urn 


CARLETON 


JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 


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THE  LIFE 


OF 


JAMES   A.  GARFIELD 


BY 


CHARLES   CARLETON   COFFIN, 

( War  Correspondent,  "  CARLETON.") 

AUTHOR  OF  "  MY  DAYS  AND  NIGHTS  ON  THE  BATTLE-FIELD,"  "FOLLOWING  TH» 

FLAG,"  "FOUR  YEARS  OF  FIGHTING,"  "NEW  WAY  ROUND 

THE  WORLD."   "  BOYS  OF  76,"   "  3TOBY 

Of  UBERTY,"  ETC. 


WITH  A  SKETCH  OF  THE  LIFE  OF 


CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 


JLLUSTRATBD.   • 


BOSTON : 
JAMES    H.   EARLE,    PUBLISHER, 

20  HAWLEY    STREET. 
i860. 


COPYRIGHT  1880, 
fir  JAMES  H.  EARL». 


Stereotyped  at  the  Boston  Stereotype  Foundry, 
No.  4  Pearl  Street 


PREFACE. 


THIS  volume  is  a  sketch  of  the  life,  character,  and 
public  service  of  James  A.  Garfield  and  Chester  A. 
Arthur,  nominees  of  the  Republican  party  for  Presi 
dent  and  Vice-President,  for  a  period  of  four  years, 
beginning  March  4,  1881.  No  one  can  be  more  sen 
sible  than  myself  of  its  incompleteness.  •>  It  has  been 
prepared  since  their  nomination  in  June  last,  at  the 
earnest  solicitation  of  friends,  and  under  the  pressure 
of  other  engagements. 

Soon  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Convention  at 
Chicago,  I  visited  "  Lawnfield,"  the  home  of  General 
Garfield,  at  Mentor,  to  obtain  data  for  this  work. 
During  its  preparation  a  second  visit  was  made,  and  I 
desire  to  express  my  appreciation  of  the  courtesy 
and  kind  attentions  received  within  that  hospitable 
mansion,  and  the  privilege  freely  accorded  of  exam 
ining  the  personal  papers  kept  by  General  Garfield 
during  the  war. 

I  desire  especially  to  make  acknowledgment  to 
Mrs.  Eliza  Ballou  Garfield  for  information  relating 

5 


6  PREFACE 

to  her  own  life,  and  for  her  vivid  portrayal  of  pioneer 
life  in  Ohio  during  the  first  quarter  of  the  century ; 
and  I  am  especially  indebted  to  her  for  many  facts 
of  the  boyhood  of  her  illustrious  son. 

I  wish  also  to  express  my  appreciation  of  the 
delicate  and  refined  courtesy  of  Mrs.  Lucretia  Ru 
dolph  Garfield,  whose  critical  eye  and  appreciative 
judgment  selected  the  portrait  adorning  the  frontis 
piece, —  one  of  six  taken  by  General  Garfield's  inti 
mate  artist  friend,  J.  F.  Ryder,  of  Cleveland,  two  days 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  Chicago  Convention. 

I  may  further  say  in  this  connection,  that  Mr.  Ryder 
is  the  artist  gracefully  alluded  to  by  General  Garfield 
in  his  address  on  the  "  Elements  of  Success,"  page  271, 
and  that  the  artist's  judgment  coincides  with  that  of 
Mrs.  Garfield  ;  and  it  is  regarded  as  the  most  satis^ 
factory  portrait  ever  taken  of  General  Garfield,  repre 
senting  him,  as  he  is  to-day,  in  the  full  vigor  of  a 
noble  manhood. 

The  readers  of  this  volume  will  be  pleased  to  know 
that  a  portion  of  the  proof-sheets  have  been  read  by 
General  Garfield  ;  the  incidents  of  his  early  years  may 
therefore  be  accepted  as  truthful  representations  of 
his  struggles  with,  and  triumphs  over,  the  adverse 
circumstances  that  surrounded  him. 

With  pleasure  I  also  acknowledge  my  indebtedness 


PREFACE.  7 

to  Capt.  C.  E.  Henry,  of  Cleveland,  pupil  of  Gen 
eral  Garfield  at  Hiram,  captain  under  him  in  the  42d 
Ohio  Regiment,  a  life-long  friend,  who  has  supplied 
me  with  many  facts  relating  to  General  Garfield  as 
teacher,  president  at  Hiram,  commander,  and  the  ex 
periences  of  his  later  years. 

To  Mr.  J.  H.  Rhodes,  of  Cleveland,  successor  of 
General  Garfield  as  president  of  Hiram ;  to  Rev.  S.  D. 
Bates,  the  enthusiastic  teacher,  who  did  so  much  for 
General  Garfield  (see  pp.  57,  348)  ;  to  Dr.  Alonzo 
Harlow,  of  Detroit  ;  and  to  many  other  gentlemen,  I 
desire  to  express  my  obligations  for  information  kindly 
and  freely  proffered. 

An  appreciative  public,  I  am  confident,  will  acknowl 
edge  its  indebtedness  to  the  publisher,  Mr.  James  H. 
Earle,  as  I  do,  for  the  fair  page,  neat  typography,  and 
the  excellence  of  the  illustrations,  which  he  has  given 
with  a  liberal  hand,  to  adorn  the  text  and  add  to  the 
attractions  of  the  volume. 

Before  leaving  this  prefatory  notice,  I  desire  to  call 
attention  to  a  few  points  : 

I.  It  is  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  a  man,  who,  against 
adverse  circumstances,  has  rendered  great  service  to 
his  country,  and  made  himself  one  of  the  foremost 
statesmen  of  the  Republic.  His  life  has  not  been 
attended  by  any  fortuitous  circumstances  ;  it  has  been 


g  PREFACE. 

an  arduous  struggle.  At  the  outset,  all  the  odds  were 
against  him  ;  but  by  indomitable  perseverance,  by  un 
swerving  determination,  and  invincible  courage,  he  has 
conquered  them  all. 

II.  It  is  the  sketch  of  a  man,  who,  by  his  self- 
reliance,  his  triumphs,  his  pure  life,  his  scholarly 
attainments,  his  noble  manhood,  is  an  example  of  what 
is  possible  to  the  young  men  of  our  country. 

Men  may  differ  from  James  A.  Garfield  in  political 
matters,  but  they  will  rejoice  in  his  triumphs  ;  they 
will  recognize  his  intellectual  force,  his  far-reaching 
views,  and  the  nobility  of  his  manhood. 

"  We  say,"  remarks  Carlyle,  "  that  men  are  the 
architects  of  their  own  fortunes ;  but  it  would  be  more 
true  to  say  that  they  are  the  architects  of  their  circum 
stances? 

The  builder  uses  the  bricks,  stone,  marble,  and  lum 
ber,  and  the  edifice  rises  in  its  glory  and  grandeur. 
So  is  it  with  the  lives  of  men  ;  they  must  take  the 
circumstances  ;  and  by  perseverance,  determination, 
courage,  and  a  noble  end  ever  in  view,  build  up  their 
lives  into  something  grand  and  glorious.  The  possi 
bilities  are  before  the  youn^  men  of  to-day,  as  they 
were  before  James  A.  Garfield  a  third  of  a  century 
ago.  He  took  the  iircumstances  of  life  as  they  came, 
and  now  his  name  is  honored  throughout  the  land  ; 


PREFACE.  g 

and  should  he  be  elected  to  the  great  office  for  which 
he  has  been  nominated,  the  whole  world  will  do  him 
reverence. 

III.  It  is  a  sketch  of  a  man  of  the  people.     General 
Garfield  has  come  up  from  the  people.     From  his  boy 
hood  he  has  been  a  laborer,  —  in  his  early  years  putting 
his  muscle,  and  in  later  years  his  brain  to  their  utmost 
tension.     His  sympathies  are  with  those  who  are  hav 
ing  hard  struggles  in  life,  and  his  hand  is  ever  open  to 
help  them. 

IV.  It  is  the  sketch  of  a  man  whose  life  has  been 
one  of  victories,  never  of  defeats. 

I  made  General  Garfield's  acquaintance  in  the  woods 
of  Tennessee,  just  after  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Land 
ing  ;  then  he  was  a  school-teacher  commanding  a 
brigade,  wearing  a  single  star  for  the  victory  of  Middle 
Creek  ;  then  the  country  knew  little  of  him,  but  to-day 
he  compels  the  attention  of  the  nation,  and  stands 
before  the  world  as  a  shining  example  of  what  it  is 
possible  for  men  to  accomplish  under  the  genius  of 
American  institutions. 

CHARLES  CARLETON  COFFIN. 

BOSTON,  July  26,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


PA€M 

I.  ANCESTRY, 13 

II.   PARENTS, 20 

III.  SURROUNDINGS, 30 

IV.  SELF-RELIANCE, 38 

V.   LIFE'S  GREAT  TURNING-POINT,         .       .        .        .  54 

VI.    STUDENT  AT  HIRAM, 63 

VII.   STUDENT  AT  WILLIAMS  COLLEGE,    .        .        .        .    76 

VIII.   PRESIDENT  OF  HIRAM  COLLEGE,  ....        83 

IX.   HEART  AND  SOUL  FOR  LIBERTY,       .        .        .        -93 

X.   BEGINNING  OF  PUBLIC  LIFE,          ....      104 

XI.    BREAKING  OUT  OF  THE  WAR,    .        .        .        .        .no 

XII.   FIRST  CAMPAIGN,     . 119 

XIII.  MIDDLE  CREEK, 130 

XIV.  UNION  VICTORIES, 151 

XV.   CORINTH  CAMPAIGN, 159 

XVI.    TULLAHOMA   CAMPAIGN, l68 

XVII.  To  CHICKAMAUGA, 183 

IX 


I2  CONTENTS. 

XVIII.  FIRST  DAY  AT  CHICKAMAUGA,        .        .        .        .195 

XIX.  SECOND  DAY  AT  CHICKAMAUGA,  .        .        .      204 

XX.  ELECTION  TO  CONGRESS, 220 

XXI.  SPEECHES  IN  CONGRESS, 226 

XXII.  TRIBUTE  TO  GENERAL  ROSECRANS,        .        .        .247 

XXIII.  REMARKS  ON  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,       .        .        .256 

XXIV.  ADDRESSES, 262 

XXV.  ADDRESS  ON  THE  FINANCES,        ....      289 

XXVI.  THE  CREDIT  MOBILIER, 3*7 

XXVII.  HOME  AND  FAMILY, 333 

XXVIII.  THE  MAN, 34' 

XXIX.  ANECDOTES  AND  INCIDENTS,        ....      348 

XXX.  THE  CONVENTION  AT  CHICAGO,     ....  356 

XXXI.  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR, 365 

XXXII.  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY, 374 


JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 


I. 

ANCESTRY. 

J  T^IFTEEN  miles  east  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  Cuya- 
JL  hoga  County,  lies  the  rural  township  of  Orange, 
where,  on  November  19,  1831,  the  very  humble  home 
of  Abraham  and  Eliza  Ballou  Garfield  was  brightened 
by  the  birth  of  a  son,  now  known  to  the  world  as  James 
Abram  Garfield. 

To  go  back  a  little.  What  of  this  boy's  parents  ? 
What  of  his  grandparents  ?  What  of  the  ancestral 
tree  ?  What  the  history  of  his  fathers  ?  What  their 
bone,  muscle,  nerve,  and  soul  force  ? 

The  name  of  Garfield  will  not  be  found  in  any  book 
of  peerage.  No  Garfield  has  ever  borne  the  title  of 
duke,  earl,  marquis,  or  lord.  They  have  been  plain 
men. 

Just  two  hundred  and  one  years  before  the  birth  of 
this  boy  in  Ohio,  Edward  Garfield,  of  England,  holding 

13 


14  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

Liberty,  Justice,  and  Right  as  the  dearest  things  on 
earth,  bade  farewell  to  his  home,  became  one  in  the 
great  exodus,  with  John  Winthrop,  John  Endicott, 
Francis  Higginson,  Isaac  Johnson,  and  the  great  mul 
titude  of  Puritans,  who  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  escape 
the  tyranny  of  Charles  I.  and  Archbishop  Laud.  Ed 
ward  Garfield's  ancestors  were  -Anglo-Saxons.  The 
Garfields  had  their  coat-of-arms  —  a  shield  with  a  gold 
ground,  crossed  by  three  horizontal  crimson  bars  ;  in 
one  corner  a  cross,  above  it  a  helmet  with  a  raised 
visor,  a  heart,  and  above  all  an  arm  wielding  a  drawn 
sword,  with  the  motto,  "  In  cruce  vinco  "  —  THROUGH 
FAITH  I  CONQUER. 

We  can  trace  the  motto  far  down  the  ages.  That 
man  of  the  distant  East,  the  first  Abraham,  born  in  the 
Euphrates  valley,  —  the  man  of  flocks  and  herds, — 
who  heard  the  calling  of  a  voice  Divine,  by  faith, 
when  he  was  called  to  go  out  unto  a  place  which  he 
should  after  receive  for  an  inheritance  —  obeyed  ;  and 
he  went  out  not  knowing  whither. 

What  a  list  of  worthies !  —  those  who  have  come 
down  through  the  ages,  who  have  conquered  adversity, 
and  made  their  mark  on  the  historic  page,  and  bene 
fited  their  fellow-men,  stimulated  by  that  divine  ideal 
—  "  Through  faith  I  conquer  !  "  Prophets,  apostles, 
saints,  the  martyrs  of  all  ages  —  men  and  women,  who 
have  stood  by  Justice,  Liberty,  and  Truth,  have  marched 
to  victory  under  banners  bearing  that  inscription.  The 
Garfields  of  Old  England  away  back  in  the  centuries 
adopted  it  as  a  sentiment  to  guide  them  through 
life. 


ANCESTRY.  i$ 

The  emigrants,  who  were  tearing  up  by  the  roots  all 
the  dear  old  things ;  who  were  leaving  kindred  and 
country,  bidding  farewell  to  the  roof-tree  hallowed  and 
endeared  by  a  thousand  associations  ;  who  were  being 
harassed  by  the  catchpolls  and  beadles  of  Laud,  who 
took  far  more  pleasure  in  putting  Puritans  in  jail  than 
in  enabling  them  to  depart  peacefully  from  the  country, 
—  these  people,  so  persecuted,  had  little  time  to  give 
any  attention  to  genealogical  records,  and  very  little  is 
known  of  their  families. 

Tradition  has  it  that  Edward  Garfield  was  unmarried, 
but  that  he  found  a  German  girl  on  the  vessel  that 
brought  him  to  America,  and  that  the  two  were  married 
not  long  after  their  arrival.  It  is  only  a  tradition,  and 
it  hardly  has  the  bare  ground  of  probability.  The  inter 
course  between  Germany  and  England  at  that  time  was 
circumscribed,  and  not  many  Germans  found  their  way 
to  Great  Britain,  but  Englishmen  were  beginning  to 
visit  Germany.  The  Protestant  faith,  common  to  both 
countries,  was  calling  many  Englishmen  to  the  Father 
land  beyond  the  Rhine,  and  it  is  more  probable  that  an 
ancestor  of  Edward  married  a  German  wife  than  that 
he  himself  fell  in  love  with  a  German  girl  during  his 
passage  to  America.  It  is  almost  certain  that  some 
where  in  the  ancestral  line  a  maiden  with  mild  eyes, 
and  countenance  fresh  and  fair,  from  the  land  of  Lu 
ther,  Melancthon  and  Goethe,  was  grafted  upon  the 
English  stock,  and  that  the  outcome  of  it  is  seen  in  the 
physiognomy  of  the  son  born  in  the  humble  home  of 
Abram  and  Eliza  Ballou  Garfield,  in  Ohio,  1831. 

Edward  Garfield,  the  Puritan,  who  could  not  put  up 


!g  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

with  the  absolutism  of  Charles  I.,  and  the  high-church- 
ism  of  Laud,  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  1630,  sailed  into 
Massachusetts  Bay,  settled  at  Watertown  to  do  what 
he  could  toward  laying  the  foundation  of  a  Christian 
state  in  the  wilderness  of  the  Western  World. 

Visitors  to  Boston  who  ride  out  to  Mount  Auburn, 
the  city  of  the  dead,  amid  the  leafy  groves  of  Cam 
bridge,  may  see  the  spot  where  Edward  Garfield  reared 
his  home  in  1630.  The  country  was  a  wilderness. 
The  Indians  were  his  neighbors.  He  did  not  take 
their  land  without  returning  an  equivalent.  John  Win- 
throp's  colony  dealt  justly.  White  men  who  defrauded 
the  Indians  were  severely  dealt  with  by  the  early 
Puritans. 

Edward  Garfield's  son,  Edward,  was  a  church-mem 
ber  and  a  freeman  in  1635.  He  was  selectman  of 
Watertown  in  1638  and  in  subsequent  years. 

Capt.  Benjamin  Garfield  was  a  respected,  honored 
citizen,  captain  of  the  militia,  and  often  a  representa 
tive.  He  held  numerous  offices  all  through  the  years 
from  1689  to  1717.  That  was  the  period  of  Indian 
wars  —  of  frequent  alarms  —  the  period  of  James  II. 
and  of  Edmund  Andros.  It  was  the  period  of  the  last 
effort  of  absolutism  in  English  history.  We  may  be 
lieve  that  Capt.  Benjamin  Garfield  was  as  staunch  and 
true  to  'iberty  as  his  ancestor  the  first  Edward  had 
been. 

We  come  down  to  that  iQth  of  April,  1775,  to  the 
scene  at  Concord  bridge.  On  the  south  side  of  the 
winding  stream  are  the  soldiers  of  George  III.,  carry 
ing  in  their  knapsacks,  as  it  were,  the  inherited  pre- 


ANCESTRT.  ij 

rogatives  of  all  past  ages  —  the  assumed  iivine  rights 
of  kings.  On  the  north  bank  are  the  farmers  of  Mid 
dlesex,  clad  in  homespun,  and  armed  with  guns,  which 
some  of  them  carried  in  the  struggle  at  Ticonderoga, 
and  on  the  plains  of  Abraham  at  Quebec,  where 
the  lilies  of  France  gave  place  to  the  cross  of  St. 
George. 

In  the  powder-horns  of  the  farmers  are,  as  it  were, 
grains  of  eternal  truth  —  the  rights  of  men  as  individ 
uals  to  have  a  voice  in  the  affairs  of  government.  They 
stand  there  confronting  kingly  prerogative.  It  is  the 
old  question  of  Runnymede  and  Marston  Moor.  The 
farmers  bear  no  animosity  to  the  red-coated  soldiers  as 
individuals.  All  are  Englishmen,  alike  glorying  in  the 
name.  Theirs  L  a  common  inheritance.  The  strug 
gle  is  not  between  man  and  man,  but  it  is  to  be  a 
conflict  of  ideas  between  individual  liberty  and  kingly 
power.  Colonel  James  Barrett,  Major  John  Buttrick, 
Captain  Isaac  Davis,  Solomon  Garfield,  Samuel  Hoar, 
and  their  fellow-citizens,  stand  there  in  self-imposed 
martial  array.  No  one  clothed  with  authority  has  sum 
moned  them.  They  heard  the  midnight  bell  ringing 
Liberty's  alarm  ;  Paul  Revere  has  been  riding  as  he 
never  rode  before. 

"A  hurry  of  hoofs  in  the  village  street. 
A  shape  in  the  moonlight,  a  bulk  in  the  dark, 
And  beneath  from  the  pebbles,  in  passing,  a  spark, 
Struck  out  by  a  steed  flying  fearless  and  fleet ; 
That  was  all !  and  yet,  through  the  gloom  and  the 
The  fate  of  a  nation  was  riding  that  night; 
And  the  spark  struck  out  by  that  steed  in  his  flight 
Kindled  the  land  into  flame  with  its  heat. 
2 


r3  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

He  had  left  the  village  and  mounted  the  steep, 
And  beneath  him,  tranquil,  and  broad  and  deep, 

Is  the  Mystic  meeting  the  ocean  tide; 
And  under  the  alders  that  skirt  its  edge, 
Now  soft  on  the  sand,  now  loud  on  the  bridge, 

Is  heard  the  tramp  of  his  steed  as  he  rides. 
It  was  twelve  by  the  village  clock 
When  he  crossed  the  bridge  into  Medford  town; 
He  heard  the  crowing  of  the  cock 

And  the  barking  of  the  farmer's  dog, 

And  felt  the  damp  of  the  river  fog, 
That  rises  after  the  sun  goes  down." 

Horsemen  are  riding  everywhere  with  the  news 
that  the  soldiers  of  the  king  are  on  the  march.  The 
rights  of  men  are  in  danger.  Abraham  Garfield,  great- 
uncle  of  the  boy  born  in  the  log  cabin  in  the  woods  of 
Ohio  in  1831,  stands  there  with  his  fellow-citizens  to 
defend  their  rights.  From  their  muskets  streamed  the 
flame  which  to-day  illumines  all  the  world ! 

Four  days  after  the  fight,  Abraham  Garfield  and  his 
fellow-citizens  signed  their  names  to  this  justification 
of  the  act  in  firing  upon  the  troops  of  the  king — an 
act  which  made  them  rebels : 

"  LEXINGTON,  April  23,  1775. 

"  We,  John  Hoar,  John  Whithead,  Abraham  Garfield, 
Benjamin  Munroe,  Isaac  Parker,  William  Hosmer, 
John  Adams,  Gregory  Stone,  all  of  Lincoln,  in  the 
county  of  Middlesex,  Massachusetts  Bay,  all  of  lawful 
age,  do  testify  and  say,  that,  on  Wednesday  last,  we 
were  assembled  at  Concord,  in  the  morning  of  said  day, 
in  consequence  of  information  received  that  a  brigade 
of  regular  troops  were  on  their  march  to  the  said  town 


ANCESTRY.  19 

of  Concord,  who  had  killed  six  men  at  the  town  of  Lex 
ington.  About  an  hour  afterwards  we  saw  them  approach 
ing,  to  the  number,  as  we  apprehended,  of  about  1200,  on 
which  we  retreated  to  a  hill  about  80  rods  back,  and 
the  said  troops  then  took  possession  of  the  hill  where 
we  were  first  posted.  Presently  after  this,  we  saw  the 
troops  moving  toward  the  north  bridge,  about  one 
mile  from  the  said  Concord  meeting  house  ;  we  then 
immediately  went  before  them  and  passed  the  bridge, 
just  before  a  party  of  them,  to  the  number  of  about 
200,  arrived  ;  they  there  left  about  one-half  of  their 
200  at  the  bridge,  and  proceeded,  with  the  rest,  toward 
Col.  Barrett's,  about  two  miles  from  the  said  bridge  ; 
and  the  troops  that  were  stationed  there,  observing  our 
approach,  marched  back  over  the  bridge  and  then  took 
up  some  of  the  planks  ;  we  then  hastened  our  march 
toward  the  bridge,  and  when  we  had  got  near  the 
bridge  they  fired  on  our  men,  first  three  guns,  one  after 
the  other,  and  then  a  considerable  number  more  ;  and 
then,  and  not  before  (having  orders  from  our  command 
ing  officer  not  to  fire  till  we  were  fired  upon),  we  fired 
upon  the  regulars  and  they  retreated.  On  their  re 
treat  through  the  town  of  Lexington  to  Charlestown 
they  ravaged  and  destroyed  private  property  and  burnt 
three  houses,  one  barn,  and  one  shop." 

King  George  called  Abraham  Garfield  a  rebel ;  but 
the  world  has  written  him  down  a  patriot ;  and  the 
world  has  been  made  better  for  what  he  and  his  fellow- 
patriots  did  on  that  ever  memorable  day. 


20  JAMES  A    GARFIELD. 


It 

THE   PARENTS. 

THE  Revolutionary  war  was  ended.  The  colonies 
had  attained  their  independence.  They  were 
increasing  in  population  ;  and  now  that  there  was  a 
prospect  of  a  future  better  than  the  past,  the  tide  of 
emigration  began.  Central  New  York  was  an  inviting 
section,  and  Solomon  Garfield,  brother  of  him  who  had 
confronted  the  British  troops  at  Concord  bridge,  resid 
ing  in  Weston,  Massachusetts,  moved  to  Worcester, 
Otsego  County,  N.  Y.,  where  he  had  a  son  born  in 
1799,  to  whom  he  gave  the  name  of  Abram. 

How  strange  that  the  bigotry  of  Madam  de  Mainte- 
non  and  of  the  Jesuits,  the  two  powers  behind  the 
throne  of  Louis  XIV.,  directing  affairs  of  state  in 
France,  should  have  anything  to  do  with  the  political 
affairs  in  this  Republic  in  the  year  1880  !  This  is  the 
way  it  came  about : 

Under  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  issued  by  Henry  IV.  of 
France,  in  1598,  the  Huguenots  were  to  have  equal 
toleration  with  those  who  accepted  the  Church  of 
Rome.  Under  that  edict  the  terrible  religious  wars 
which  had  raged  in  France  came  to  an  end.  But  paci- 


THE  PARENTS.  21 

fication  and  toleration  did  not  suit  the  Jesuits.  Hugue 
nots  were  heretics,  enemies  of  God,  to  be  exterminated. 
Heresy  was  pestilential  and  must  be  rooted  out  But 
the  edict  of  Henry  IV.  was  in  their  way.  Under  it 
the  Huguenots  were  prospering.  They  were  wealth- 
producing.  They  were  weavers,  spinners,  hatters,  lace- 
workers,  industrious,  thrifty,  sober-minded,  and  God 
fearing.  To  put  them  down  there  must  be  a  revoca 
tion  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes. 

The  Jesuits  laid  their  plans.  They  knew  very  well 
that  Madam  de  Maintenon  could  wind  Louis  XIV. 
round  her  little  finger.  His  life  was  burning  out.  He 
was  satiated  with  sensuous  pleasure.  Madam  de  Main- 
tenon  charmed  him  by  the  strength  of  her  intellect, 
and  her  calm,  quiet,  methodical  ways.  She  under 
stood  affairs  of  state  better  than  the  secretaries  who 
came  into  the  king's  bed-chamber,  while  he  was  dress 
ing,  to  lay  before  him  the  contents  of  their  portfolios. 
Madam  de  Maintenon,  intent  on  securing  her  eternal 
salvation  through  her  services  to  the  church,  was  ready 
to  aid  in  rooting  out  heresy,  and  persuaded  Louis  XIV. 
to  sign  the  order  of  revocation.  Consternation  seized 
the  Huguenots.  The  great  exodus  began.  They  fled 
to  England,  Switzerland,  Germany,  and  America  — 
eight  hundred  thousand,  the  bone  and  sinew,  the  best 
blood,  the  heart  and  soul  of  France. 

Among  the  Huguenots  who  sought  refuge  in  Amer 
ica  was  Maturin  Ballou,  who  settled  in  Cumberland, 
R.  1.  Coming  down  to  the  sixth  generation,  we  see 
his  descendant,  James  Ballou,  about  the  time  Wolfe 
was  wresting  Canada  from  France  on  the  plains  of 


22  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

Abraham,  moving  from  Cumberland  to  Richmond, 
N.  H.,  and  marrying  Mehitabel  Ingalls. 

This  Huguenot  descendant,  making  his  home  with  his 
young  wife  among  the  Granite  Hills,  had  four  chil 
dren,  —  James,  Henry,  Eliza,  and  Alpha.  The  eldest 
daughter,  Eliza,  was  born  May  21,  1801.  James  Ballou 
died  in  1809,  when  Eliza  was  eight  years  old.  The 
widow  moved  with  her  family  to  Worcester,  Otsego 
County,  N.  Y.,  and  became  neighbor  to  Solomon  Gar- 
field. 

So  it  came  about  that  Abram  Garfield  and  Eliza 
Ballou  were  playmates.  We  may  think  of  them  as 
running  barefooted  and  bareheaded  about  their  homes, 
with  no  superfluous  clothing,  —  for  the  parents  of  both 
have  quite  as  much  as  they  can  do  to  make  both  ends 
of  the  year  meet.  The  boy  drives  the  cows,  looks 
after  the  pigs  :  the  girl  feeds  the  chickens,  runs  on 
errands,  —  for  all  must  do  what  they  can.  Besides,  it 
is  a  cardinal  point  with  these  New-England  emigrants 
to  work ;  it  is  ingrained  into  their  nature. 

The  boy  and  girl  have  not  much  schooling  ;  a  few 
weeks  in  summer,  a  few  in  winter.  They  learn  to  read, 
spell,  and  write,  and  make  a  little  progress  in  arith 
metic  ;  but  the  people  of  Worcester  are  too  poor  to 
spend  much  money  for  schools. 

On  Sundays  the  families  attend  meeting  on  horse 
back  ;  wives  riding  behind  their  husbands  on  pillions, 
carrying  the  baby ;  children  of  larger  growth  behind 
the  mother,  holding  on  by  the  crupper. 

They  listen  to  long-winded  sermons.  At  noon,  old 
friends  shake  hands  and  talk  of  what  is  going  on  in 


THE  PARENTS.  23 

the  world.  Some  of  them  have  been  to  Schenectady 
or  Albany  during  the  week,  and  have  heard  the  latest 
news  from  New  York,  —  of  what  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
and  Wellington  are  doing  across  the  Atlantic  ;  of  the 
outrages  which  England  is  committing  on  American 
vessels,  impressing  American  seamen.  Later,  war  with 
England  breaks  out,  and  soldiers  are  on  the  march  to 
Niagara  and  Sackett's  Harbor.  Then  come  the  battles 
at  Queenstown  and  Chippewa,  and  Perry's  victory  on 
Lake  Erie. 

Amid  such  surroundings,  the  boyhood  of  Abram 
Garfield  and  the  girlhood  of  Eliza  Ballou  were  passed. 

It  was  a  period  of  great  business  depression.  The 
war  with  England  had  left  the  country  in  a  sad  con 
dition.  Internal  improvement  had  not  begun,  De 
Witt  Clinton  was  urging  the  construction  of  the  Erie 
Canal.  The  roads  of  the  country  were  in  a  wretched 
condition.  On  the  great  thoroughfares  were  stages, 
but  only  the  well-to-do  could  afford  to  travel  in  them. 
The  era  for  manufactories  had  not  come.  There  was 
little  that  a  young  man  could  turn  his  hand  to  in  such 
an  out-of-the-way  place  as  Worcester,  in  central  New 
York,  and  Abram  Garfield  turned  his  face  toward 
the  wonderful  country  which  everybody  was  talking 
about  —  Ohio. 

A  great  tide  of  emigration  from  New  England  was 

setting  westward.     People  from  New  Hampshire,  Mas- 

'sachusetts,  and   Connecticut   had   been    moving   into 

New  York  ;  and  now  they  were  pushing  on  from  New 

York  to  the  more  fertile  lands  farther  west,  enduring 


24  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

terrible  hardships,  animated  by  the  idea  that  there  was 
a  good  time  for  them  in  the  future. 

James  Ballon  caught  the  "  Ohio  fever,"  as  it  was 
called,  and  persuaded  his  mother  to  sell  out  her  small 
possessions  in  Worcester.  She  packed  her  goods  in  a 
wagon  —  beds,  boxes,  pots  and  pans,  —  and  with  her 
children  started  for  the  West. 

What  a  journey  it  was  !  The  roads  through  New 
York  were  wretched,  but  far  worse  through  Pennsyl 
vania.  There  were  rivers  to  cross,  swamps  to  pass, 
quagmires  to  fall  into.  It  was  a  journey  of  six  weeks 
—  now  accomplished  in  twelve  hours. 

The  wagon  was  the  home  of  the  family.  Eliza 
Ballou,  the  maiden  of  fourteen,  endured  all  the  hard 
ships —  the  jolting  over  corduroy  roads  in  a  wagon 
destitute  of  springs,  the  body  bolted  to  the  axle. 
Many  times  the  wheels  sank  to  the  hub  in  the  yield 
ing  mud.  Then  came  the  prying  with  levers,  the  wor 
rying  of  the  jaded  horses,  and  finally  the  unloading  of 
the  wagon,  the  re-loading  ;  and  thus  day  after  day, 
through  rain  and  sun,  through  mud  and  mire,  the  reso 
lute  emigrant  family  made  its  way. 

There  were  no  thickly-settled  towns,  scarcely  a  vil 
lage.  Buffalo  had  been  burned  by  the  British  in  1814, 
and  was  just  rising  from  its  ashes —  a  cluster  of  houses. 
Cleveland  was  a  collection  of  log  huts  on  the  shore  of 
the  lake  at  the  outlet  of  the  Cuyahoga  River,  with 
perhaps  one  hundred  inhabitants. 

Muskingum  County,  whither  Mr.  Ballou  was  bound, 
was  an  old  settled  section.  Ebenezer  Zane  had  made 
a  settlement  there  in  1 799  —  the  year  of  Abram  Gar- 


THE  PARENTS.  2$ 

field's  birth.  He  kept  a  tavern,- — a  log  house  with  two 
rooms.  Boats  could  ascend  the  Muskingum  from  the 
Ohio  to  that  locality,  transporting  goods  for  the  set 
tlers,  who  were  pouring  in  to  occupy  the  fertile  lands. 

Those  were  the  days  when  the  settlers  were  depen 
dent  on  their  rifles  for  their  meat  and  clothing.  Men 
wore  caps  made  from  the  skins  of  the  raccoon  or 
muskrat,  with  deerskin  jacket  and  pantaloons,  which  a 
soaking  rain  and  the  subsequent  drying  made  as  stiff 
and  ridged  as  corrugated  iron. 

Those  were  the  days  of  cabin-raisings,  chopping- 
matches,,  log-rollings,  and  huskings  for  the  men,  and  of 
quiltings,  sewing-bees,  and  peach  parings  for  the  wo 
men  ;  the  rude,  unlettered  days  of  the  frontier  ;  of  a 
community  that  was  putting  forth  tremendous  physical 
strength  ;  clearing  the  land,  cutting  down  the  forest, 
building  roads,  rearing  houses,  preparing  the  founda 
tions  of  the  Republic. 

The  young  man  Abram  Garfield,  the  while,  lived  at 
Worcester  till  he  was  fifteen,  when  he  went  to  Madrid, 
St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  Y.,  where  he  remained  several 
years.  From  there  he  made  his  way  to  Newburg,  near 
Cleveland.  Hearing  that  his  old  neighbors,  Mrs.  Ballou 
and  her  family,  were  at  Zanesville,  he  went  down  to  see 
them.  He  was  twenty  years  of  age.  His  former  play 
mate,  Eliza  Ballou,  was  a  comely  maiden  of  eighteen. 
Is  it  a  wonder  that  he,  far  from  home,  alone  in  the 
world,  should  find  his  heart  going  out  toward  the  girl 
whom  he  had  known  so  intimately  through  by-gone 
years  ;  or  that  she  should  think  him  the  one  man  in  all 
the  world  who  could  make  her  happy  through  life  ? 


26  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

They  were  married  by  Justice  of  the  Peace  Hogan, 
February  3,  1821. 

The  only  home  he  could  offer  her  was  a  log  cabin, 
eighteen  by  twenty  feet,  containing  one  room.  It  had 
two  doors  and  three  windows.  They  were  too  far  from 
civilization,  and  too  poor  in  pocket,  to  obtain  a  sash  or 
purchase  glass  ;  but  the  young  wife  stretched  greased 
paper  across  the  holes  in  the  side  of  the  house,  waiting 
till  the  coming  of  better  times. 

"  We  were  quite  stylish  ;  better  off  than  some  of 
our  neighbors,"  said  Mrs.  Garfield,  laughingly,  to  the 
writer. 

The  fireplace  was  made  of  stones,  surmounted  by  a 
chimney  of  sticks  and  mud.  The  floor  was  of  hewn 
puncheons  ;  the  roof  of  slabs  and  bark. 

In  such  a  house  the  young  couple  began  life,  the 
wife  cooking  their  corn  bread  in  a  "  Dutch  oven,"  —  a 
kettle  with  a  rimmed  cover,  on  which  live  coals  were 
heaped.  The  oven,  a  frying-pan,  an  iron  pot,  wooden 
plates,  and  knives  and  forks  for  the  husband  and  wife  ; 
a  bed  in  one  corner  ;  stools  made  by  the  husband  with 
an  ax  and  auger  —  this  the  outfit. 

Children  came  to  bless  them,  four  in  number  ;  the 
last,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  born,  as  already  stated, 
November  iQth,  1831. 

It  was  the  canal-constructing  period.  Ohio  was 
building  the  Pennsylvania  Canal,  running  from  Cleve 
land  to  Beaver,  Penn.,  below  Pittsburgh  ;  and  the  Penn 
sylvania  and  Ohio  Canal,  extending  from  Cleveland, 
south,  to  the  Ohio  River.  Abram  Garfield,  full  of 
pluck  and  energy,  put  in  a  bid  for  the  construction  of  a 


THE  PARENTS.  29 

section  of  one  of  the  canals.  Only  a  single  scrap  of 
his  handwriting  is  preserved,  and  that  is  in  relation  to 
the  bid  for  the  contract  —  the  closing  sentence  —  "If 
any  of  it  is  struck  to  us,  we  will  begin  at  once."  He 
secured  the  contract,  realizing  a  good  profit  ;  but  a 
second  contract,  owing  to  a  sudden  rise  in  the  price  of 
labor,  proved  disastrous,  sweeping  away  all  former 
earnings.  When  his  debts  were  paid,  nothing  re 
mained  except  the  humble  home  and  the  small  farm, 
partially  paid  for. 


30  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 


III. 

SURROUNDINGS. 

IT  will  be  instructive  just  here  to  pass  in  rapid  review 
the  condition  of  the  country  at  the  time  when  James 
Abram  Garfield  was  born.  The  census  had  just  been 
taken,  showing  a  population  of  about  thirteen  millions. 
Cleveland  contained  one  thousand  and  seventy-five  in 
habitants.  Chicago  was  a  cluster  of  houses  around 
Fort  Dearborn.  Sylvester  Marsh,  who  has  recently 
constructed  a  railroad  to  the  summit  of  Mount  Wash 
ington,  was  supplying  the  fort  and  the  few  people  in 
Chicago  with  fresh  beef,  hanging  them  up  for  dressing 
on  the  branches  of  an  oak  upon  the  site  now  occupied 
by  the  city  hall  of  that  metropolis  of  nearly  half  a 
million  people. 

A  few  settlers  had  made  their  way  into  Wisconsin 
as  Indian  traders.  Not  till  James  A.  Garfield  was 
three  years  of  age,  was  there  a  furrow  turned  in  the 
State  of  Iowa. 

James  Monroe,  the  last  of  the  statesmen  of  the 
Revolutionary  period,  was  passing  away.  The  states 
men  of  the  second  period  —  Webster,  Clay,  Calhoun, 
and  their  compeers  —  were  in  the  thick  of  the  fight.  It 
was  the  period  of  the  great  forensic  contest  between 


SVXff  O  UN  DINGS.  3  ! 

Webster  and  Hayne,  the  period  when  South  Carolina 
was  asserting  the- doctrine  of  nullification. 

In  1831,  engineers  were  laying  out  lines  of  railroad 
from  Boston  to  Lowell,  Worcester  and  Providence, 
and  from  Albany  to  Schenectady.  In  1835,  when  James 
A.  Garfield  was  nearly  four  years  old,  the  directors  of 
the  Boston  and  Worcester  Railroad  were  building  a 
freight  depot  in  Boston,  forty  by  sixty  feet,  which  they 
declared  would  give  ample  freight  accommodations  for 
a  decade  of  years  ! 

A  great  change  was  taking  place  in  this  western 
world.  The  Erie  Canal,  begun  in  1817,  through  much 
opposition,  had  been  triumphantly  carried  through  by 
De  Witt  Clinton.  It  was  completed  in  1825.  The 
Dutch  farmers  around  Albany  called  it  Clinton's  big 
ditch.  The  penny-a-liners  of  the  press  had  composed 
lampoons  on  Clinton.  I  give  a  specimen  : 

"  Oh,  a  ditch  he  would  dig,  from  the  lakes  to  the  sea, 
The  eighth  of  the  world's  matchless  wonders  to  be  ! 
Good  land  !  how  absurd  !     But  why  should  you  grin? 
It  will  do  to  bury  its  mad  author  in !  " 

The  construction  of  the  canal  facilitated  emigration 
to  the  West,  and  the  people  of  New  England  began 
their  great  exodus,  pouring  into  northern  Ohio,  plant 
ing  schoolhouses  and  churches  side  by  side. 

The  great  period  of  cotton-manufacturing  had  al 
ready  begun,  and  Lowell  was  sending  out  its  fabrics  to 
compete  with  England  in  the  trade  which  that  country 
had  exclusively  engaged  up  to  1823.  Though  the  cot 
ton  manufactures  had  commenced,  the  farmers  were  still 


32  JAMES  A.   GARFIBLD. 

swingling  their  crops  of  flax,  and  their  wives  and 
daughters  were  making  merry  music  with  the  spin 
ning-wheels.  Eliza  Ballou  Garfield,  in  her  humble 
home  in  the  wilderness  of  Ohio,  found  it  needful  to 
keep  the  spinning-wheel  ever  humming  to  furnish  her 
self  and  children  with  clothes. 

Invention  was  just  beginning  to  produce  labor-saving 
machinery.  Obed  Hussey  was  contriving  a  machine 
which  should  supersede  the  sickle  and  cradle  in  har 
vest  —  a  machine  to  be  drawn  by  horses,  with  swiftly 
flying  knives.  His  first  patent  was  applied  for  in 
^33,  when  James -A.  Garfield,  eighteen  months  old, 
was  a  prattler  in  his  mother's  arms.  Joseph  Henry, 
student,  inquiring  into  the  phenomena  of  electrical 
science,  was  just  having  a  glimmering  idea  of  utilizing 
the  electrical  forces  for  conveying  intelligence.  Men 
were  coming  to  understand  that  it  was  possible  to 
set  to  work  what  we  call  natural  forces  for  the  benefit 
of  the  human  race  ;  that  machines  could  be  made  to  do 
the  work  of  human  hands. 

The  year  1831  was  the  birth-time  of  great  moral 
ideas.  From  that  day  in  1619,  when  a  Dutch  ship 
master  sailed  up  James  River,  and  sold  sixteen  negro 
slaves  to  the  planters  of  Virginia  to  work  in  the  tobacco- 
fields,  negro  slavery  had  been  increasing  in  the  south 
ern  States  of  the  Republic.  From  the  days  of  the 
Revolution  it  had  been  dying  out  in  the  northern 
States.  The  great  irrepressible  conflict  between  free 
and  slave  labor  was  just  beginning.  A  few  months  be 
fore  the  birth  of  James  A.  Garfield,  a  young  man  in 
Boston,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  issued  his  first  num- 


SURROUNDINGS. 


33 


ber  of  the  Liberator,  pronouncing  eternal  hostility  to 
slavery,  and  demanding  immediate  emancipation.  He 
had  visited  a  portion  of  the  South,  and  had  seen  the 
enormity  of  slavery,  but  the  apathy  in  the  North  to  its 
iniquity  and  aggressions  appalled  him.  He  said  : 

"  During  my  recent  tour  for  the  purpose  of  exciting 
the  minds  of  the  people  by  a  series  of  discourses  on  the 
subject  of  slavery,  every  place  that  I  visited  gave  fresh 
evidence  of  the  fact  that  a  greater  revolution  in  public 
sentiment  was  to  be  effected  in  the  free  States,  and 
particularly  in  New  England,  than  at  the  South.  I 
found  contempt  more  bitter,  detraction  more  relentless, 
prejudice  more  stubborn,  and  apathy  more  frozen  than 
among  slave-owners  themselves.  Of  course,  there  were 
individual  exceptions  to  the  contrary.  This  state  of 
things  afflicted,  but  did  not  dishearten  me.  I  deter 
mined  at  every  hazard  to  lift  up  the  standard  of  eman 
cipation  in  the  eyes  of  the  nation,  within  sight  of 
Bunker  Hill,  and  in  the  birthplace  of  Liberty.  That 
standard  is  now  unfurled  ;  and  long  may  it  float,  un 
hurt  by  the  spoliations  of  time,  or  the  missiles  of  a  des 
perate  foe,  —  yea,  till  every  chain  be  broken,  and  every 
bondman  set  free  !  Let  Southern  oppressors  tremble, 
—  let  their  secret  abetters  tremble,  —  let  their  North 
ern  apologists  tremble,  —  let  all  the  enemies  of  the 
persecuted  blacks  tremble  ! 

"  I  am  aware  that  many  object  to  the  severity  of  my 

language  ;  but  is  there  not  cause  for  severity  ?     /  will 

be  as  harsJi  as  truth,  and  as  uncompromising  as  justice! 

On  this  subject  I  do  not  wish  to  think  or  speak  or 

3 


34  JAMES  A.   G Aft FIELD. 

write  with  moderation.  No  !  no  !  Tell  a  man  whose 
house  is  on  fire  to  give  a  moderate  alarm  ;  tell  him  to 
moderately  rescue  his  wife  from  the  hands  of  the 
ravisher  ;  tell  the  mother  to  moderately  extricate  her 
babe  from  the  fire  into  which  it  has  fallen  ;  but  urge 
me  not  to  use  moderation  in  a  cause  like  the  present. 
I  am  in  earnest,  —  I  will  not  equivocate,  —  I  will  not 
excuse,  —  I  will  not  retreat  a  single  inch,  —  and  /  will 
be  heard!  The  apathy  of  the  people  is  enough  to 
make  every  statue  leap  from  its  pedestal,  and  to  hasten 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead  ! " 

It  was  the  period  when  conscience  began  to  make 
itself  felt  as  never  before  in  the  history  of  our  country ; 
when  Duty,  Obligation,  Fidelity  to  Truth,  Liberty,  and 
Right  began  to  stir  men's  hearts  as  in  those  days 
when  William  Bradford,  William  Brevvster,  came  over 
in  the  "Mayflower,"  —  when  John  Winthrop,  John 
Endicott,  Edward  Garfield,  and  thousands  of  men  and 
women  of  England,  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  obedience 
to  their  convictions  of  right.  Not  only  was  there  an 
awakening  of  conscience  in  regard  to  the  individual 
rights  of  man  of  whatever  race,  color,  or  lineage,  but 
throughout  the  northern  States  men  began  to  see  the 
need  of  reforming  their  own  lives.  It  was  the  period 
of  the  beginning  of  the  great  temperance  reformation. 
Up  to  that  time  men  everywhere  drank  intoxicating 
liquors  in  the  household  ;  —  upon  rising  in  the  morn 
ing,  to  clear  the  cobwebs  from  their  throats  ;  during 
the  forenoon  to  give  them  an  appetite  for  dinner ; 
after  dinner,  to  settle  their  food  ;  after  supper,  to  make 


SURROUNDINGS. 


35 


them  sleep.  Also,  to  prevent  them  from  taking  cold  ; 
to  cure  a  cold ;  because  they  were  wet ;  because 
they  were  dry.  Rum  at  weddings,  at  raisings,  upon 
the  meetings  of  friends,  at  huskings,  and  at  funerals. 
Judge,  physician,  minister,  —  all  drank !  Rum  and 
whiskey  were  to  be  found  everywhere!  It  is  narrated 
that  a  minister  out  West,  during  the  political  campaign 
of  1832,  —  an  ardent  friend  of  General  Jackson,  —  was 
accustomed  to  electioneer  with  a  Bible  in  one  pocket 
and  a  bottle  of  whiskey  in  the  other,  preaching  to  one 
set  of  men,  and  drinking  with  another,  making  himself 
the  same  to  all  that  he  might  win  their  votes  ! 

Whiskey  and  rum  were  indispensable  factors  in  elec 
tions  at  that  period.  In  many  counties  the  candidates 
made  arrangements  with  the  groggeries  at  the  country 
seats  and  principal  towns,  to  supply  the  voters  with  all 
the  liquors  they  might  wish  a  few  weeks  before  election. 
Saturdays  were  Saturnalias  —  the  people  riding  in  to 
the  villages  to  hear  the  stump-speakers,  and  drink 
themselves  drunk  at  the  expense  of  the  candidates. 

The  temperance  reformation  beginning  in  1830  was 
changing  all  this.  Throughout  the  eastern  States,  and 
northeastern  Ohio  settled  largely  by  New  Englanders, 
men  were  reforming  their  drinking  habits  in  obedi 
ence  to  their  conviction  of  duty,  and  obligation  to 
themselves  and  God. 

It  was  a  period  of  religious  awakening.  Among  the 
earnest  religious  men  of  the  period  was  Alexander 
Campbell,  who,  dissatisfied  with  creeds  as  he  found 
them,  made  the  Bible  his  creed,  and  became  the 
founder  of  the  Disciples'  Church.  Among  those  who 


36  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

were  inclined  to  a  religious  life,  and  who  became 
members  of  that  church,  were  Abram  and  Eliza  Gar- 
field.  Theirs  was  a  humble  home,  but  it  was  dedi 
cated  to  God.  Morning  and  evening,  the  children 
beneath  that  roof  heard  the  voice  of  their  parents  in 
prayer.  The  Sabbath  was  honored. 

There  came  a  day  in  July  when  forest  fires  were 
raging.  There  had  been  a  drought.  The  fields  were 
parched.  Woody  fibre  was  like  tinder.  The  wind  was 
sweeping  the  flames  towards  Abram  Garfield's  field  of 
wheat.  Unless  arrested,  starvation  would  stare  the 
family  in  the  face  during  the  approaching  winter.  He 
put  forth  the  utmost  energy  that  God  had  given  him 
and  stopped  it.  His  children  would  not  want  for 
bread.  But  his  blood,  through  contact  with  the  fire 
and  his  tremendous  activity,  was  at  fever  heat.  The 
perspiration  oozed  from  every  pore.  He  sat  down  to 
rest,  to  feel  the  cool  breeze  fanning  his  brow.  How 
delightful !  Little  did  he  dream  of  what  would  come 
of  it.  Morning  dawned,  and  he  was  suffering  from  con 
gestion  of  the  throat.  The  nearest  physician  was  miles 
away,  but  a  man  who  pretended  to  have  some  medical 
knowledge  applied  a  blister,  aggravating  the  disease. 
A  few  hours  later  the  strong  man  felt  that  the  powers 
of  life  were  going  swiftly  out. 

Tenderly  he  gazed  upon  his  children  and  upon  the 
loving-hearted  wife.  "  You  must  take  care  of  them," 
he  said  to  her.  As  Daniel  Webster  in  his  last  hours 
desired  to  gaze  once  more  upon  his  herd  of  cattle,  so 
Abram  Garfield  cast  one  look  upon  the  faithful  oxen 
in  the  pasture  near  at  hand,  and  called  them  by  name. 


SURROUNDINGS  37 

It  was  the  end  of  earthly  things  to  him.  So  a  great, 
stunning  blow  fell  suddenly  upon  that  Christian  house 
hold.  The  husband  and  father,  in  the  vigor  of  man 
hood,  was  stricken  down,  and  the  wife  and  mother,  with 
four  children,  the  oldest  ten  years  and  the  youngest 
eighteen  months,  was  left  v;  fight  alone  the  tremendous 
battle  of  life. 


38  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 


IV, 

SELF-RELIANCE. 

ALL  the  odds  were  against  Eliza  Ballou  Garfield 
on  that  heart-sinking  day,  when  she  stood  be 
side  the  open  grave  and  saw  her  husband  laid  down  to 
his  last  sleep,  and  returned  to  that  home  from  which 
the  light  of  his  life  had  gone  forever.  But  one  with 
God  is  more  than  all  else  beside. 

There  were  her  four  children.  God  had  given  them 
to  her,  and  she  would  train  them  for  him.  But  what 
a  struggle  !  The  wheatfield  was  partially  fenced  ;  the 
cattle  roaming  the  woods  would  be  destroying  the 
grain.  It  must  be  fenced  ;  but  how  ?  She  had  no 
money  to  pay  for  hired  help.  She  could  not  call  upon 
the  neighbors  ;  they  had  enough  work  to  do  to  keep 
their  heads  above  water.  She  had  braved  many  hard 
ships  ;  gone  through  many  trials  ;  she  was  not  the 
woman  to  falter  now. 

Leaving  the  oldest  child  to  care  for  the  other  three, 
she  went  into  the  woods,  found  some  trees  already 
felled,  and  split  them  into  rails.  Her  arms  were  weary  ; 
blisters  appeared  upon  her  palms  ;  but  what  of  that  ? 
Duty  nerved  her ;  affection  for  her  children,  the  pro 
viding  of  bread  for  them,  sustained  her.  Day  by  day 


MOTHER  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 


SELF-REL1A  N^E. 


39 


the  pile  of  rails  increased,  and  the  work  went  on  till  the 
field  was  securely  fenced.  Henceforth  we  need  not 
turn  to  Athens  or  Rome  for  models  of  devotion,  but  to 
that  log  cabin  of  Ohio. 

"  How  we  got  along  I  don't  know,"  said  Mrs.  Gar- 
field  ;  "  but  we  did  it  somehow." 

They  not  only  got  on,  but  Mrs.  Garfield,  besides  car 
rying  on  her  spinning,  splitting  rails,  chopping  wood, 
doing  out-door  work,  found  time  to  teach  her  chil 
dren. 

We  are  not  to  think  of  the  family  as  being  exception 
ally  poor,  for  in  many  respects  Mrs.  Garfield,  even  in 
her  widowhood,  was  quite  as  well  off  as  many  of  her 
neighbors.  The  country  was  new ;  the  settlers  were 
poor  ;  the  forest  was  dense  ;  and  there  must  be  many 
sturdy  blows  of  the  ax  before  even  a  small  clearing 
could  be  made.  A  few  acres  of  cleared  land  would 
suffice  to  raise  bread  for  the  settlers ;  but  there  must 
be  a  great  putting  forth  of  energy  to  make  any  head 
way  in  the  world.  Those  who  could  raise  more  than 
enough  for  their  own  subsistence  had  no  markets  for 
their  surplus  produce.  All  were  poor  together  —  not 
from  any  lack  of  thrift  or  enterprise,  but  from  stress  of 
circumstances,  which  time  alone  would  remove. 

The  farm  was  not  fully  paid  for,  and  there  was  the 
interest  on  the  mortgage  to  look  after,  and  the  extinc 
tion  of  the  debt.  Resolutely  this  woman,  whose  birth 
place  was  amid  the  Granite  Hills,  with  true  New  Eng 
land  grit,  faced  all  the  obstacles  and  conquered  them. 
There  are  sublimer  victories  in  life  than  those  won 
amid  the  roar  of  cannon,  and  the  uproar  and  turmoil 


4<D  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

and  bloodshed  of  battle  —  the  victories  where  the  con 
flict  goes  on  month  after  month,  year  after  year, 
through  summer  and  winter.  Eliza  Ballou  Garfield 
fought  such  a  battle,  and  came  off  conqueror. 

Of  her  children,  the  oldest  and  youngest  were  boys, 
the  other  two  daughters.  From  the  outset  they 
helped.  There  were  chores  which  they  could  do  — 
care  for  the  cows,  gather  wood  for  the  fire,  and  run  on 
errands.  The  youngest  of  the  family,  at  a  very  early 
age,  understood  that  he  must  help.  He  learned  to 
read  when  he  was  quite  young,  and  devoured  every 
thing  of  a  literary  character  within  reach.  He  loved 
stories  of  adventure. 

The  literature  of  forty  years  ago  on  the  frontier  con 
sisted  largely  of  narration  of  adventures,  of  encounters  of 
huntsmen  with  bears  and  panthers,  of  fights  with  the  In 
dians.  The  almanacs  of  the  period  which  were  found  in 
every  chimney-corner  of  the  West,  and  in  many  Eastern 
homes,  were  illustrated  with  rude  woodcuts  of  huntsmen 
shooting  bears  and  wildcats,  of  fights  with  rattlesnakes, 
of  scenes  on  the  Mississippi — steamboats  running  races, 
huge  columns  of  black  smoke  rolling  out  from  the  chim 
neys  —  one  of  the  boats  going  up  into  the  air  —  boilers, 
smoke-stacks,  splinters,  passengers  raining  down  over 
all  the  surrounding  country.  After  the  Revolution  in 
Texas  —  the  fight  at  San  Jacinto,  and  the  fall  of  the 
Alamo  —  the  almanacs  were  illustrated  by  war  scenes. 
David  Crockett's  almanac  had  an  immense  circulation. 
One  of  the  most  popular  books  on  the  frontier  was 
about  battles  with  the  Indians,  illustrated  by  rude  and 
highly  colored  plates  —  the  Indians  being  decked  in 


SELF-RELIANCE.  4! 

blue,  orange,  and  vermilion.  Among  the  books  read 
by  James  A.  Garfield  was  a  volume  entitled  "  The 
Pirate's  Own  Book,"  containing  an  account  of  Captain 
Kidd  and  his  chests  of  money  ;  stories  of  the  bucca 
neers  of  the  Caribbean  seas  plundering  a  Spanish  gal 
leon,  and  other  stories  of  adventure  upon  the  ocean. 
This  volume  made  a  great  impression  upon  the  young 
boy,  who  read  it  by  fire-light  in  that  Ohio  log-cabin. 
"Jack  Halyard"  was  another  book  of  the  sea  that 
charmed  him.  In  his  boyish  enthusiasm  he  resolved  to 
be  a  sailor  when  he  became  a  man.  "  Robinson  Crusoe," 
and  "Alonzo  and  Melissa,"  were  delightful  volumes 
to  that  boy  of  the  Ohio  woods.  But  this  mental  food 
of  the  week-days  was  supplemented  by  something  bet 
ter  on  Sunday,  —  the  stories  of  the  Bible  ;  attendance 
at  the  meetings  of  the  Disciples  ;  and  the  abiding  ex 
ample  of  a  Christian  mother. 

The  boy  was  keenly  alive  to  fun,  and  engaged  with 
great  zest  in  the  sports  of  boyhood.  He  was  quick  to 
resent  wrong,  and  ever  ready  to  stand  in  defense  of  his 
own  rights,  or  the  rights  of  others.  His  kindness  of 
heart  extended  to  the  brute  creation,  and  no  ox,  horse, 
or  mule  suffered  maltreatment  at  his  hands.  He  at 
tended  the  public  school  the  few  weeks  of  the  winter 
and  summer  terms  —  learning  to  read  and  write,  get 
ting  an  acquaintance  with  grammar,  and  arithmetic. 

Tl  e  period  of  James  A.  Garfield's  early  boyhood  was 
one  of  great  activity  in  the  business  world,  —  the 
period  of  inflation — of  speculation.  Everybody  was 
getting  rich  on  paper  in  Eastern  and  Western  lands. 
The  tide  of  emigration  was  sweeping  on  as  never  be- 


42  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

fore.  Thousands  of  people  in  the  Eastern  States,  who 
never  intended  to  settle  in  the  West,  purchased  gov 
ernment  lands  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan,  and  Illinois, 
expecting  to  see  them  double  or  quadruple  in  a  few 
months.  They  not  only  invested  their  surplus  earn 
ings,  but  obtained  money  at  the  banks.  There  was  a 
great  increase  of  banks,  and  the  issuing  of  a  vast  vol 
ume  of  notes  with  no  specie  basis. 

The  United  States  government  was  not  only  out  of 
debt,  but  had  a  large  surplus  from  customs  revenue 
which  was  given  to  the  States,  thus  swelling  the  infla 
tion. 

At  last  the  crash  came.  Banks  failed  ;  people  who 
had  hired  money  could  not  pay  notes  ;  their  earnings 
were  gone  ;  the  lands  which  they  had  valued  so  highly 
were  sold  for  taxes  ;  the  corner  lots  in  paper  cities 
were  not  worth  the  paper  on  which  they  had  been 
drawn. 

Those  were  hard  times.  The  mother  toiling  for  her 
children  on  the  little  Ohio  farm  had  no  surplus  earn 
ings,  but  the  hard  times  were  felt  in  that  home  never 
theless.  There  was  need  for  more  pinching  —  more 
struggling  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the  door. 

Money  !  how  could  her  youngest  boy  earn  money  ? 
Orange  was  a  farming  town,  and  the  farmers  did  not 
need  his  help.  Their  own  boys  could  do  all  their 
chores.  There  were  no  manufactures  of  any  kind  in 
town  ;  the  day  for  manufactures  had  not  come.  There 
was  a  joiner  and  carpenter  who  perhaps  might  have 
something  for  him  to  do.  The  boy  thought  that  he 
could  push  a  jack-plane.  The  joiner  had  some  boards 


SELF-RELIANCE.  45 

which  needed  planing  ;  they  were  twelve  feet  long  ; 
he  was  willing  to  pay  a  cent  a  board  for  the  work  ! 
The  bargain  was  completed. 

Picture  the  scene  :  The  barefoot  boy,  in  his  blue 
jean  trowsers,  —  coat  and  vest  laid  aside,  —  hardly  tall 
enough  to  use  the  carpenter's  bench,  the  sweat  upon 
his  forehead,  pushing  the  plane,  making  the  shavings  fly 
from  morning  till  night,  planing  one  hundred  boards, 
receiving  one  hundred  cents,  —  the  first  money  he  ever 
earned !  Give  him  millions  to-day  and  he  would  not 
be  so  rich  as  he  was  that  night  when  he  was  the  pos  • 
sessor  of  only  one  dollar.  It  was  his  first  success  in 
the  great  life-struggle. 

During  the  first  years  of  the  century  the  farmers 
throughout  the  country  saved  their  wood-ashes,  which 
they  sold  for  the  manufacture  of  "  black  salts."  In 
every  town  in  New  England,  New  York,  and  Ohio, 
there  were  "  pot:asheries,"  —  as  they  were  called,  —  es 
tablishments  containing  vats  for  the  leeching  of  wood- 
ashes  ;  and  caldron-kettles  for  boiling  the  lye,  reduc 
ing  it  to  potash,  which  in  its  crude  state  was  termed 
"  black  salts."  When  still  further  refined,  it  became 
pearl-ash. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  century,  when  settlers  were 
clearing  their  land,  they  were  accustomed  to  roll  the 
logs  into  huge  piles  and  burn  them,  for  the  purpose  of 
saving  the  ashes,  which  in  New  England  commanded 
ten  cents  a  bushel. 

There  was  an  ashery  in  Orange  ;  and  the  boy  who 
was  ready  to  turn  his  hand  to  any  honest  toil,  found 
employment  in  shoveling  ashes  into  the  leech-tubs, 


46  JAMES  A.    GARF1ELD. 

wetting  them  down,  keeping  the  fires  roaring  undet 
the  kettles,  which  required  constant  care. 

It  was  not  a  kind  of  labor  that  he  particularly  fan 
cied  ;  but  labor  was  a  duty,  and  when  duty  called,  he 
was  not  the  one  to  flinch. 

From  planing  boards  and  boiling  black  salts  he  made 
another  step,  —  learning  how  to  take  the  "  wind  "  out 
of  timber  before  framing  it  by  the  "  square  rule."  He 
bored  holes,  made  mortises  and  tenons,  and  at  fifteen, 
in  the  years  of  1847  and  1848,  earned  a  little  money 
in  that  way,  learning  at  the  same  time  the  rudiments 
of  a  carpenter's  calling. 

Making  his  way  to  Newburg,  which  is  now  a  part  of 
Cleveland,  he  took  a  job  at  cutting  one  hundred  cords 
of  wood  for  twenty-five  dollars  !  No  one  who  has  not 
swung  the  ax  day  after  day  can  understand  the  amounl 
of  muscular  effort  required  to  cut  one  hundred  cords 
of  wood.  He  cut  two  cords  a  day. 

Probably  his  wages  did  not  exceed  thirty-seven  cents 
a  day,  after  paying  his  board.  This  work  was  done  in 
full  view  of  Lake  Erie,  where  he  could  see  — 

"  The.  stately  ships  go  by 
To  the  haven  under  the  hill." 

Day  after  day  he  beheld  the  steamers  arrive  from  Buf 
falo  and  depart  for  Sandusky,  Detroit,  and  Chicago. 
Schooners  spread  their  white  wings,  and  disappeared 
in  the  distance.  The  glamour  of  "  Jack  Halyard  "  was 
on  him,  and  the  longing  to  be  a  sailor  increased  rather 
than  diminished. 

Finishing  his  wood-chopping,  he  engaged  to  assist  a 


SELF-RELIANCE.  ^ 

Mr.  Treat  through  haying  and  harvesting,  and  with  his 
earnings  in  his  pocket,  announced  to  his  mother  that 
he  could  no  longer  restrain  his  desire  for  the  life  on  the 
wave,  and  that  he  had  decided  to  immediately  depart. 
Amid  prayers  and  forebodings  she  bade  him  good-bye, 
and  he  found  his  way  on  foot  to  Cleveland. 

Seeking  the  harbor,  he  boarded  the  only  ship  that 
lay  in  port,  and  inquired  for  the  captain.  His  ideas  of 
a  captain  were  formed  from  the  stories  he  had  read, 
and  he  imagined  a  dashing,  brave,  and  gallant  gentle 
man,  capable,  when  the  occasion  required,  of  perform 
ing  desperate  deeds,  but  disposed  to  be,  as  a  general 
thing,  generous  to  a  failing. 

To  the  youth's  question,  a  hand  replied  that  the  cap 
tain  would  soon  come  up  from  the  hold. 

The  prophecy  proved  true.  First  the  captain  was 
heard,  then  seen,  clearing  his  way  with  volley  after 
volley  of  oaths. 

The  bashful  youth  approached,  and  diffidently  asked 
if  he  wanted  a  hand  ? 

An  increased  flood  of  oaths,  turned  wholly  in  his 
direction,  was  the  only  answer  received.  A  suppressed 
titter  came  from  the  men,  and  the  boy  retired  in  con 
fusion. 

Walking  about  the  docks  and  looking  at  the  scanty 
indications  of  commerce  at  that  early  day,  he  began  to 
collect  his  thoughts,  and  finally  reasoned,  that  as  the 
lake  was  to  the  ocean,  so  was  the  canal  to  the  lake,  and 
his  failure  in  securing  a  situation  arose  from  the  fact 
that  he  was  not  sufficiently  posted  in  the  ways  of 
sailors.  To  the  canal  he  would  go  and  learn. 


48  JAMES  A.   GARP1ELD. 

He  stepped  on  board  canal-boat  "  Evening  Star,"  and 
accosted  Captain  Amos  Letcher,  who  is  still  living  in 
Bryan,  Ohio,  asking  for  employment.  Captain  Letcher 
was  in  want  of  a  boy  to  drive  the  mules  along  the  tow- 
path,  and  engaged  him. 

The  canal  at  that  time  was  a  great  thoroughfare  be 
tween  Lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio  River. 

Copper-mining  on  Lake  Superior  had  begun,  and 
was  having  a  great  development.  The  ore  was  brought 
down  in  schooners  to  Cleveland,  and  from  thence  taken 
to  Pittsburgh  by  canal.  The  "  Evening  Star,"  on  its 
first  trip,  after  young  Garfield  became  one  of  its  hands, 
took  a  cargo  of  ore  to  Pittsburgh,  and  returned  with  a 
cargo  of  coal. 

The  canal  had  its  fascinations.  "  It  was  imagination 
that  took  me  upon  the  canal,"  said  General  Garfield  to 
Hie  writer. 

By  accepting  such  employment,  he  would  see  some 
thing  of  the  world.  The  books  he  had  read,  the  stories 
that  had  come  to  him,  fired  his  imagination.  The 
smoke  that  curled  above  his  home  was  not  the  center 
of  the  universe.  He  must  see  what  there  was  beyond 
the  horizon  that  closed  around  him.  It  was  the  long 
ing  to  know  what  there  was  beyond  his  sight  —  the 
cravings  of  a  brave  spirit  for  knowledge  and  adventure 
that  impelled  him  —  the  same  spirit  that  has  led  him 
through  life.  The  young  mule-driver,  by  engaging  in 
such  occupation,  would  see  other  places. 

There  was  little  to  stir  one's  blood  in  the  quiet  ol 
his  native  town  ;  but  on  the  canal  he  would  come  in 
contact  with  new  things,  and  though  he  had  been  dis« 


SELF-RELIANCE.  -  j 

appointed  in  being  a  sailor,  he  looked  forward  to  his 
future  occupation  with  much  pleasure.  True,  the  driv 
ing  of  a  span  of  mules  would  be  monotonous ;  but  he 
would  see  the  world,  and  be  earning  a  living  at  the 
same  time. 

The  canal-men  were  hard-working,  burly  fellows, 
who  were  knocking  about  the  world  in  a  free  and  res 
olute  way.  They  were  generally  regarded  as  a  "hard 
set,"  ready  to  drink  whiskey  on  all  occasions,  accus 
tomed  to  roll  out  a  torrent  of  oaths,  and  ready  to 
engage  in  a  fight  upon  the  slightest  provocation. 

The  young  mule-driver  received  his  share  of  curses, 
but  he  was  so  wide  awake,  so  good-natured,  that  the 
boatmen  liked  him.  He  was  ever  on  the  look-out  to 
get  ahead  of  another  boat,  especially  in  approaching  a 
lock,  and  in  his  eagerness  he  sometimes  violated  what 
were  regarded  as  the  rules  of  the  canal,  and  came  near 
getting  thrashings  from  other  boatmen. 

By  being  a  good  mule-driver,  he  was  promoted  to  a 
steersman  and  deck-hand  —  his  first  stepping  up  in 
life. 

He  had  frequent  mishaps,  —  falling  into  the  canal 
not  less  than  fourteen  times.  He  could  not  swim,  but 
somehow  always  managed  to  get  out.  When  he  fell 
overboard  the  fourteenth  time,  he  grasped  a  rope  that 
was  dragging  in  the  water,  and  undertook  to  pull  him 
self  in,  hand  over  hand,  but  the  rope  was  running 
free,  and  he  made  no  headway,  till  a  knot  caught  in 
a  crack  and  stopped  its  further  paying  out. 

He  crawled  into  his  bunk,  and  as  he  lay  there  shiv 
ering,  his  mind  was  going  over  the  incident  that  had 


52  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

saved  him, — the  knotting  of  the  rope  and  its  catch 
ing  in  the  crack.  He  thought  of  the  narrow  margin 
that  had  come  to  him  between  life  and  death.  He 
thought  of  the  old  home  —  his  mother  —  that  he  had 
not  informed  her  of  his  whereabouts  ;  that  she,  with 
out  doubt,  supposed  him  to  be  upon  the  lake,  and 
he  resolved  to  go  home  as  soon  as  his  trip  was  ended. 

The  roustabouts  of  a  Mississippi  steamer  and  the 
boatmen  on  a  canal  are  ever  ready  for  a  fight.  To 
be  knocked  down,  to  get  a  black  eye,  to  have  their 
scalps  peeled,  are  matters  of  frequent  occurrence.  One 
of  the  hands  on  Captain  Letcher's  boat,  "Dave,"  as  he 
was  familiarly  called,  was  a  stout,  burly,  hard-handed 
fellow,  in  the  prime  of  life.  Garfield  was  sixteen ; 
lithe,  agile,  and  muscular.  One  day  Garfield's  setting- 
pole  was  wrenched  suddenly  from  his  grasp  by  coming 
in  contact  with  the  tow-lines  of  a  passing  boat.  It 
flew  toward  Dave. 

"  Look  out,  Dave  !  "  shouted  Garfield. 

The  warning  was  too  late  ;  the  pole  struck  Dave  in 
the  back,  not  injuring  him  in  the  least,  but  rousing  his 
anger. 

"  It  was  an  accident.     I  didn't  mean  it,  Dave." 

"  You  did,  you  rascal ! "  shouted  Dave,  dropping  his 
pole,  and  with  clenched  fists  aiming  a  blow  at  Gar- 
field,  who  warded  it,  and  the  next  moment  planted  a 
blow  under  Dave's  ear,  which  sent  him  reeling  upon 
the  deck.  In  an  instant  Garfield  was  upon  him. 

"  If  he  don't  know  any  better  than  to  get  mad  for  an 
accident,  smash  his  smellers  ! "  shouted  the  captain. 

The   boy  of  sixteen    raised   his   arm  to   bring   his 


SELF-RELIANCE. 


S3 


clenched  fist  down  upon  the  face  of  Dave.  All  the 
energy  that  comes  from  success,  all  the  stimulus  that 
comes  from  the  captain's  praise,  is  in  that  arm.  He 
will  blacken  the  fellow's  eyes,  knock  his  nose  about 
as  if  it  were  the  bung  of  a  barrel.  He  will  conquer  a 
peace.  He  is  a  boy,  his  enemy  a  full-grown  man,  in 
the  vigor  of  life,  hero  of  many  fights.  What  an  op 
portunity  for  fame  ! 

"  Hold  on,  Jim  !" 

The  arm  drops.  The  muscles  relax,  the  fingers 
unclasp,  and  the  boy  helps  Dave  to  his  feet.  No  re 
venge,  no  malice  —  generosity  only.  From  that  time 
on,  Dave  is  his  best  friend. 


54  JAMES  A.   GARF1BLD. 


V. 
LIFE'S   GREAT  TURNING-POINT. 

THE  months   go  by.     James  Abram  Garfield,  the 
while,  is  enduring  the  hardships  of  life  on   the 
canal.     Summer  passes  away. 

The  golden  dust  of  autumn  is  falling  on  the  field, 
The  red  moon  of  October  spreads  out  its  ruddy  shield ; 
The  russet  and  the  yellow  are  on  the  distant  wood, 
And  all  the  lovely  flowers  which  in  their  fragrance  stood, 
The  lily  and  the  violet,  the  white  rose  and  the  red, 
Have  with  the  summer  faded  and  all  their  perfume  shed. 
The  golden-yellow  corn-ears  are  ripened  for  the  store, 
And  purple  grapes  are  hanging  on  the  trellis  by  the  door. 

The  hardships,  the  work  from  early  morning  till  late 
at  night,  the  exposure  to  sun  and  storm,  the  drenchings 
from  rain,  the  wettings  in  the  canal,  the  sleeping  at 
night  in  malarious  atmospheres,  lying  down  with  his 
threadbare  clothes,  limp  and  damp,  clinging  to  his 
skin,  —  all  together  have  had  their  effect  upon  the 
boy  of  sixteen. 

He  reaches  Cleveland,  settles  with  the  captain,  re 
ceiving  his  small  pittance  of  wages,  turns  his  steps 
towards  his  home,  seventeen  miles  away.  Nerveless, 


LIFE'S   GREAT   TURNING-POINT. 


55 


weary,  fever  in  his  blood,  thin,  spare,  haggard,  he 
makes  his  way  to  Orange. 

During  the  months  he  has  been  gone  he  has  not 
written  to  his  mother  ;  there  has  been  little  time  to 
write.  He  went  away  against  her  wishes,  but  now 
that  the  fever  is  burning  him  up,  he  comes  back  to  the 
humble  home,  to  feel  cooling  hands  upon  his  brow. 

Night  is  falling  as  with  faltering  steps  he  approaches 
the  door.  His  foot  is  upon  the  threshold,  his  hand 
upon  the  latch.  He  hears  a  voice  within,  —  a  voice  that 
is  music  to  his  ears,  —  soft  and  low.  It  is  the  hour  of 
evening  prayer : 

"  God  bless  my  absent  boy ! " 

Not  till  we  have  traveled  well  along  life's  journey  do 
we  discover  where  the  great  turning-points  of  our  lives 
have  been.  The  weary  youth,  burning  with  fever,  did 
not  know  then  that  the  past  was  all  behind  him,  — that 
a  far  different  future  was  before  him,  and  that  his  foot 
was  upon  its  threshold. 

It  was  the  dividing-line  —  the  supreme  moment  be 
tween  what  he  had  been  and  what  he  was  to  be  ;  and 
the  crowning  glory,  which  hung  over  him  like  a  heav 
enly  Shekinah,  was  a  mother's  love,  which,  morning  and 
evening,  went  up  to  heaven  for  a  blessing  on  her  boy  ! 

Through  the  autumn  months  he  tossed  and  tumbled 
on  his  bed,  shaking  with  ague,  too  languid  from  the 
effects  of  the  malaria  to  undertake  any  labor,  taking 
mercury  prescribed  by  the  local  physician  till  salivation 
set  in.  It  was  the  medical  treatment  of  the  period. 

How  hard  to  lie  there  helpless  upon  his  bed  when 
the  great  world  was  opening  before  him !  He  was 


56  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

thinking  the  while,  not  perhaps  of  the  canal,  but  of  the 
lake  or  the  sea.  The  imagination  which  had  led  him 
to  become  a  boatman  was  still  portraying  the  pleasure 
of  a  life  upon  the  ocean.  The  influence  of  "  Jack  Hal 
yard  "  was  still  upon  him,  and  though  a  third  of  a  century 
has  passed  since  James  A.  Garfield  read  the  fascinating 
story,  its  influence  has  not  wholly  faded  out.  Even  in 
mature  life  he  experiences  no  pleasure  like  that  which 
thrills  him  when  upon  the  deck  of  a  steamship  in 
mid-ocean.  Not  long  since  he  gave  utterance  to  the 
following  words  :  "  The  sight  of  a  ship  fills  me  with  a 
strange  fascination.  .  When  upon  the  water,  when  my 
fellow-men  are  suffering  sea-sickness,  I  am  as  tranquil 
as  when  walking  the  land  in  serenest  weather." 

Helpless  in  body  but  strong  in  purpose,  he  passed 
the  hours  of  the  closing  year.  He  did  not  then  com 
prehend  how  the  mother's  gentle  hand,  how  her  sweet 
voice  was  leading  him  in  another  direction.  There 
was  never  a  reproach  uttered  in  regard  to  his  expe 
rience  upon  the  canal,  but  these  were  the  words  that 
fell  from  her  lips  : 

"  Working  on  the  canal,  or  going  as  a  sailor  upon  the 
lake,  will  only  give  you  employment  for  half  the  year, 
and  you  will  not  be  able  to  get  much  to  do  in  the  win 
ter.  Would  it  not  be  much  better  for  you  to  go  to 
school  and  fit  yourself  to  be  a  teacher  ?  Then  you 
will  have  a  chance  to  earn  money  in  the  winter. ' 

We  are  not  to  think  of  this  youth,  who  has  come 
from  his  summer's  work  on  the  tow-path,  as  having 
made  no  progress  in  intellectual  culture.  On  the  con 
trary,  he  has  made  the  most  of  his  opportunities,  and 


LIFE'S    GREAT   TURNING-POINT.  ^ 

has  worried  more  than  one  teacher  in  the  district 
school  with  his  questions,  answers,  and  problems. 

He  has  some  keen-witted  cousins  by  the  name  of 
Boynton,  who  also  have  put  teachers  to  their  trump. 
They  have  formed  an  intellectual  circle,  and  have  been 
studying  the  meaning  of  words.  "  We  mastered  Web 
ster's  Spelling-book,"  said  General  Garfield  to  the 
writer. 

The  boy  of  sixteen,  who  has  mastered  even  so  small 
a  volume  as  the  Spelling-book  of  Noah  Webster,  has  a 
good  and  solid  foundation  for  future  intellectual  culture. 
The  juvenile  circle  not  only  spelled  the  words,  but 
hunted  out  their  meaning.  From  definitions  they  went 
on  to  construct  sentences,  employing  the  words  that 
would  be  most  forcible.  It  was  self-culture  which  has 
been  of  infinite  value  to  General  Garfield  through  life. 
It  is  manifest  in  all  his  writings,  his  speeches,  and  es 
pecially  in  his  military  despatches.  The  best  word 
seems  to  be  ever  at  hand. 

Winter  came.  The  district  school  began.  The  teacher 
was  a  young,  enthusiastic  man,  —  Samuel  D.  Bates,  — 
who  had  attended  the  "  Geauga  Seminary,"  as  the 
academy  in  the  neighboring  town  of  Chester  was 
called.  The  young  schoolmaster  was  deeply  religious, 
and  afterward  became  a  devoted  minister. 

No  balances  have  yet  been  constructed  to  measure 
the  power  of  moral  forces.  An  influence  for  good 
once  started  goes  on  forever.  Little  did  that  young 
schoolmaster  know,  when  he  brought  the  influence  of 
his  sublime  enthusiasm  for  education,  for  religion,  for 
everything  that  is  good,  pure,  high  and  holy,  upon  that 


58  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

boy  of  seventeen,  of  what  would  come  of  it.  The 
world  does  not  yet  know.  The  seed  then  sown  is  only 
now  putting  forth  its  flower.  All  mankind  may  yet 
breathe  its  fragrance.  That  winter  school  was  the  di 
viding-line  between  James  A.  Garfield's  past  and  his 
eventful  future. 

How  wide  apart  the  influences  of  that  winter  from 
those  of  the  preceding  summer !  The  quiet  of  the 
school-room,  the  Scripture  lesson,  the  morning  prayer, 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  young  teacher,  the  coming  in  of 
new  thoughts,  new  aspirations  and  desires,  —  the  little 
glimpses  of  the  great  ocean  of  truth,  —  the  first  inhaling 
of  the  fragrance  of  that  limitless  sea,  —  the  thoughts  of 
a  better  life  beyond  the  present,  of  God,  of  heaven,  -— 
this  in  contrast  to  life  on  the  canal-boat ! 

That  prayer  of  the  mother  was  still  haunting  his 
memory.  Conscience,  Obligation,  Duty,  confronted 
him,  pointing  him  toward  the  Right.  The  boy  heard 
voices  divine  winning  him  to  a  better,  nobler,  purer  life. 
With  resolute  purpose  he  turned  his  back  upon  all  the 
past,  resolving  to  follow  the  white-winged  spirits 
wherever  they  might  lead  him. 

"  Go  with  me  to  the  Seminary,"  said  his  teacher. 
How  could  he  go  ?  He  had  no  money,  no  clothes  ex 
cept  the  suit  of  country  jeans,  worn  threadbare  at 
the  knees.  But  the  mother,  whose  resolute  will  had 
conquered  greater  difficulties  in  the  past,  was  behind 
him,  urging  him  on.  She  had  prayed  for  him  ;  she 
was  ready  to  work  for  him.  She  had  a  little  money,  a 
friend  had  a  little,  —  together  amounting  to  eleven  dol- 


LIFE'S    GREAT   TURNING-POINT.  59 

lars.  They  gave  it  cheerfully.  It  was  the  widow's  mite, 
—  all  she  had. 

In  March,  1849,  the  son,  in  company  with  a  cousin 
and  another  schoolmate,  with  their  packs  on  their 
backs  containing  their  few  books,  tin  dippers,  knives 
and  forks,  a  frying-pan  and  plates,  bade  farewell  to 
friends,  and  trudged  along  the  highway  to  Chester. 
They  found  an  empty  room  in  an  old  unpainted  build 
ing  near  the  school,  which  they  hired  for  a  pittance, 
unpacked  their  tin  cups,  plates,  knives,  forks,  and  frying- 
pan,  bought  potatoes  and  bacon,  and  began  housekeep 
ing,  boarding  themselves  for  a  few  cents  a  day. 

Young  Garfield's  studies  were  English  grammar, 
natural  philosophy,  arithmetic,  and  algebra.  He  had 
never  seen  an  algebra  but  once,  before  purchasing  the 
one  which  he  used  during  the  term. 

The  eleven  dollars  were  dwindling  ;  so  much  had 
gone  for  books  that  the  cash  on  hand  for  the  table  was 
getting  low.  How  replenish  it  ?  It  was  March ;  too 
early  for  farm-work.  Chester  was  a  small  place,  but 
the  two  or  three  carpenters  in  the  town  were  ever 
having  odd  jobs,  and  the  boy  who  was  feeling  the  tides 
of  a  new  purpose  bearing  him  on,  was  ready  to  do 
anything.  He  could  push  a  plane.  The  days  of 
planing-machines  had  not  come,  and  the  carpenters 
were  ready  to  pay  small  pittances  for  the  bone  and 
muscle  of  the  young  student.  Before  breakfast,  be 
fore  the  bell  called  him  at  nine  in  the  morning,  he  was 
making  the  shavings  fly  in  a  neighboring  shop.  When 
four  o'clock  came  in  the  afternoon,  he  rushed  from  the 
school-room  to  the  bench.  On  Saturday  he  could 


60  JAMES  A,   GARFIELD. 

work  from  morning  till  night.  While  his  muscle  was 
driving  the  plane,  his  brain  was  intent  on  the  value  of 
x  in  an  equation.  When  recitation  came  he  was 
always  fresh.  The  play-ground  had  its  attractions. 
No  boy  ever  pitched  the  quoits  with  keener  zest  than 
he  ;  but  behind  the  plane  was  something  for  the  frying- 
pan  or  another  suit  of  clothes,  and  behind  them  was 
the  hunger  of  the  soul  —  the  thirst  for  knowledge. 

When  the  term  closed,  he  had  money  enough  to  pay 
all  his  bills.  The  eleven  dollars  was  all  the  money  he 
ever  received  from  others  ;  from  that  day  on  he  paid 
his  own  way. 

During  the  summer  vacation  he  worked  as  carpenter 
or  farmer  in  the  haying  or  harvest  field.  With  a 
schoolmate  he  called  one  day  upon  a  farmer,  who 
employed  a  large  number  of  men.  "  Do  you  want 
some  help  ? "  they  asked.  The  farmer  looked  at  the 
striplings  as  if  doubtful  of  their  ability  to  do  much. 

"  Can  you  mow  ? " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  How  much  wages  do  you  want  ?  " 

"  Just  what  you  think  is  right." 

"  Very  well,  you  may  go  to  work." 

Was  there  ever  a  boy  that  swung  a  scythe,  that  did 
not  feel  that  he  was  a  man  ?  that  he  could  do  a  man's 
work  ?  James  Garfield  and  his  companion  determined 
not  only  to  be  men  in  the  haying  field,  but  to  surpass 
the  other  laborers  in  the  amount  and  quality  of  their 
work.  It  required  muscle,  a  wide  reaching  out  of  their 
arms  —  but  they  did  it. 

"See  here,  you  lubbers/'  said  the  old  farmer,  ad- 


LIF&S   GREAT   TURNING-POINT.  6 1 

dressing  the  other  hands  ;  "  those  boys  are  beating 
you  all  hollow.  Their  swathes  are  wider,  and  they 
mow  better  than  you  do.  Aren't  you  ashamed  of 
yourselves  ? " 

Not  unnaturally,  the  boys  were  fond  of  the  farmer's 
praise,  and  remembered  it.  Settling-day  came. 

"  Well,  boys,  how  much  must  I  pay  ?" 

"  What  you  think  is  right,"  they  replied. 

"  Well,  I  don't  know.  You  see  you  are  only  boys  — • 
of  course  you  can't  expect  men's  wages." 

"  But  have  you  not  told  the  men  that  we  mowed 
wider  swathes,  and  did  our  work  better  than  they  ? 
You  have  held  us  up  as  an  example.  True,  we  are 
boys,  but  if  we  have  done  the  work  of  men,  are  we  not 
entitled  to  men's  pay  ? " 

The  farmer  could  not  eat  his  own  words.  He  had 
used  the  boys  to  shame  the  men,  and  so  paid  them  full 
wages. 

Back  to  the  Academy  went  the  boy,  cooking  his 
bacon  in  the  frying-pan,  working  morning  and  night 
and  Saturdays,  yet  making  such  intellectual  progress, 
that  when  the  fall  term  closed,  he  was  deemed  qualified 
to  teach  school.  He  found  one  near  by. 

The  morning  came  on  which  he  was  to  begin.  He 
was  not  the  only  teacher  who  has  looked  with  forebod 
ing  upon  the  future,  when  about  to  begin  a  first  school. 

"  I  dare  say  you  will  see  me  home  before  ten 
o'clock,"  he  said  to  his  mother  as  he  started  for  school. 
Ten  o'clock  came,  but  he  did  not  come.  He  was 
getting  interested  in  his  school,  and  the  school  in  him. 
He  was  entering  upon  a  new  career,  feeling  the  stimulus 


62  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

that  comes  from  the  putting  forth  of  intellectual  powers. 
It  was  no  longer  mule-driving,  but  training  the  human 
intellect.  He  experienced  an  enthusiasm  all  unknown 
before,  and  at  once  became  a  popular  teacher. 

He  was  eighteen  years  old.  Twelve  months  before 
he  was  on  the  tow-path,  with  grand  imaginings  of  a 
life  on  the  sea  ;  but  now  he  was  sailing  on  a  wider 
ocean  than  the  Atlantic  or  Pacific,  the  great  ocean  on 
whose  shore  Isaac  Newton,  with  all  his  attainments, 
said  that  he  had  picked  only  a  few  pebbles.  The  new 
life  opened  wide  before  him.  The  vision  was  so  en 
trancing  that  he  determined  to  strike  out  boldly  and 
with  a  definite  purpose,  —  the  obtaining  of  a  collegiate 
education. 

"  It  is  a  great  point  gained,"  he  afterwards  wrote, 
"when  a  young  man  makes  up  his  mind  to  devote 
himself  to  the  accomplishment  of  a  definite  work." 

Through  the  summer  vacation  of  1850  he  worked 
as  carpenter.  He  had  got  beyond  the  plane,  and  was 
using  the  square  and  scratch-awl  —  setting  other  men 
to  work.  When  the  work  was  done  for  the  day,  he 
took  up  his  Latin  grammar. 

By  the  spring  of  1851  he  emancipated  himself  from 
the*  frying-pan  and  became  a  boarder  in  a  family, 
paying  for  food  and  clothes  and  washing,  $1.06  per 
week. 

The  next  winter  he  taught  school  again  ;  studying 
hard  the  while,  with  his  eye  fixed  on  his  definite 
purpose.  He  was  taking  a  long  look  ahead.  He  could 
see  something  worth  having  far  away,  and  bent  all  his 
energies  to  make  it  his  own. 


STUDENT  AT  HIRAM.  63 


VI. 

STUDENT  AT  HIRAM. 

THE  settlers  of  north-eastern  Ohio  were,  as  a 
whole,  a  remarkable  body  of  men.  Many  of 
them  were  deeply  religious,  and  emigrated  from  the 
eastern  States,  not  merely  to  improve  their  worldly 
condition,  but  to  aid  in  establishing  society  on  solid 
foundations.  They  were  animated  by  a  sentiment  like 
that  which  brought  John  Winthrop  and  his  associates 
to  America.  The  glory  of  God  was  behind  the  move 
ment  ;  the  planting  of  religious  institutions  in  the 
wilderness ;  the  doing  of  something  to  make  the  Re 
public  of  the  future,  Christian.  It  was  a  grand  mis 
sionary  ideal.  The  sentiment  was  stimulated  by  the 
various  missionary  societies  organized  from  1816  and 
at  later  dates. 

The  years  1830-31  were  remarkable  not  only  for 
the  beginning  of  the  great  temperance  reformation 
and  the  agitation  of  the  anti-slavery  question,  but  for 
a  great  revival  of  religious  convictions,  and  nowhere 
was  the  awakening  deeper  than  in  the  towns  of  the 
Western  Reserve  in  Ohio. 

It  was  a  period  of  religious  inquiry.  Old  theol 
ogies  and  old  creeds  were  questioned.  Earnest,  warm- 


64  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

hearted  men  were  no  longer  satisfied  with  antiquated 
ecclesiastical  ideas  of  belief  or  of  church  polity. 

This  spirit  of  inquiry,  as  has  already  been  stated, 
resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  new  religious  organiza 
tion,  the  members  of  which  called  themselves  Disci 
ples.  Their  creed  was  very  brief.  It  included  :  — 

1.  A  belief  in  God  the  Father. 

2.  That  Jesus  is   the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God,  the  only  Saviour. 

3.  That  Christ  is  a  Divine  Being. 

4.  That   the    Holy  Spirit   is    the   Divine  agent  in 
the  conversion  of  sinners,  and  in  guidance  and  direc 
tion. 

5.  That  the  Old  and  New  Testament  Scriptures  are 
inspired  of  God. 

6.  That  there  is  future  punishment  for  the  wicked, 
and  reward  for  the  righteous. 

7.  That  God  hears  and  answers  prayer. 

8.  That  the  Bible  is  the  only  creed. 

Abram  and  Eliza  Garfield  were  members  of  the 
Disciples'  Church.  Their  son,  during  his  attendance  at 
Geauga  Seminary,  also  became  an  active  member, 
taking  part  in  the  prayer-meetings,  and  honoring  his 
profession  by  an  exemplary  life. 

To  those  earnest  settlers  of  the  Western  Reserve, 
life  was  more  than  meat,  and  the  body  than  raiment. 
They  were  anxious  for  the  welfare  of  their  children. 
They  wished  them  to  have  a  good  education.  The 
grand  idea  not  only  dotted  the  country  with  common- 
schoolhouses,  but  with  academies,  institutes,  semi 
naries,  colleges,  and  "  universities,"  —  schools  with 


STUDENT  AT  HIRAM.  65 

high-sounding  names,  but  slenderly  endowed,  and  with 
a  limited  curriculum. 

One  of  the  institutions  thus  established  was  the 
Eclectic  Institute  at  Hiram,  Portage  County,  about 
eighteen  miles  south-east  of  Orange.  Its  course  of 
study  was  in  advance  of  that  at  Chester,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1851,  with  the  "  definite  purpose"  strictly  in 
view,  James  A.  Garfield  made  his  appearance,  bundle 
in  hand,  at  Hiram. 

The  board  of  trustees  of  the  Eclectic  Institute  were 
in  session. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  the  janitor,  putting  his  head  into 
the  room,  "  there  is  a  young  man  at  the  door  who 
wishes  to  see  you." 

"  Who  is  he  ? "     "  What  does  he  want  ? " 

"  He  wants  to  see  you." 

"  Show  him  in." 

The  young  man,  twenty  years  of  age,  entered. 

"  Gentlemen,  my  mother  is  a  widow,  with  very  little 
money.  I  want  to  obtain  an  education,  and  would  like 
the  privilege  of  making  the  fires  and  sweeping  the 
floors  of  the  building  to  pay  part  of  my  expenses." 

"  How  do  you  know,  young  man,  that  the  work  will 
be  done  to  suit  us  ? "  asked  one  of  the  members. 

"  Try  me  two  weeks,  and  if  it  is  not  done  to  your 
satisfaction,  I  will  retire." 

"  Gentlemen,  I  think  we  had  better  try  him,"  said 
Frederick  Williams,  one  of  the  board ;  and  he  was 
duly  installed  master  of  the  broom  and  dust-brush. 

In  the  march  of  life,  not  one  alone,  but  many  of  our 
comrades  lend  us  helping  hands.  They  help  us  by 
5 


66  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

manly  acts  in  our  hours  of  need  ;  when  we  are  just 
ready  to  halt  through  weariness,  a  word  of  encourage 
ment  stimulates  us  to  a  new  effort.  No  one  marches 
by  himself  alone.  They  who  have  had  a  struggle  with 
adverse  circumstances,  and  conquered  them,  can  look 
over  the  battlefield  and  see  how,  just  at  the  right  time, 
friends  unsolicited,  and  out  of  the  kindness  of  their 
natures,  gave  them  needed  assistance.  Possibly  at  the 
time  they  did  not  know  that  they  were  receiving  help, 
and  only  came  to  a  sense  of  it  in  after  years. 

We  have  already  seen  how  the  young  schoolmaster 
gave  a  helping  hand  to  James  A.  Garfield  when  he 
most  needed  it,  by  his  enthusiasm  and  counsel,  sup 
plementing  that  of  the  mother,  turning  him  from  the 
canal  to  the  college. 

We  see  him  now  at  Hiram,  with  a  definite  purpose, 
bending  all  his  energies  to  attain  it.  Among  the  stu 
dents  is  a  lady,  nine  years  older  than  himself,  Almeda 
A.  Booth,  who  is  to  be,  as  it  were,  a  white-winged 
spirit  to  lead  him  on. 

"  I  am,  perhaps,  more  indebted  to  her  than  to  any 
other  person,''  said  General  Garfield  to  the  writer. 

With  this  estimation  of  her  character  and  service, 
this  sketch  would  be  incomplete,  without  some  notice 
of  Miss  Booth. 

Her  parents  were  of  sturdy  New  England  stock  ; 
her  father  from  Connecticut,  her  mother  from  Massa 
chusetts.  Both  were  swept  westward  in  childhood  by 
the  great  tide  of  emigration  which  settled  western 
Ohio. 

"Her  father,"  says  General  Garfield,  "  was  a  man  of 


STUDENT  AT  HIRAM.  67 

more  than  ordinary  powers  of  mind  ;  gentle,  affection 
ate,  impressible,  and  deeply  religious.  His  early  intel 
lectual  training  did  not  go  beyond  the  rudiments 
taught  in  the  common  schools  of  Connecticut.  But 
he  was  an  inveterate  reader  of  books,  and  the  armful 
of  choice  volumes  that  lay  on  the  shelves  of  his  little 
library  was,  probably,  a  greater  number  than  could 
have  been  found  in  one  house  out  of  every  thousand 
on  the  Reserve.  He  adopted  a  profession  which  ren 
dered  the  acquirement  of  wealth  well-nigh  impossible. 
He  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  was  assigned  to  a  circuit  of  nearly  a  thou 
sand  miles. 

"Soon  after  entering  the  ministry,  he  sent  eleven 
silver  dollars  to  England  to  purchase  a  Greek  lexicon  ; 
and  he  so  far  mastered  the  language  as  to  read  the 
Greek  Testament  with  ease.  He  used  to  say  that  in 
the  early  days  of  his  ministry,  he  and  a  Mr.  Charles 
Elliott  were  the  only  Methodist  preachers  west  of  the 
Alleghanies  who  were  able  to  read  Greek." 

This  was  about  1820.  It  presents  in  brief  the  cul- 
tuie  of  the  people  of  Ohio  at  that  period.  Mr.  Booth 
married  Dorcas  Taylor,  1819.  Their  only  child,  who 
was  to  be  of  such  service  to  the  young  man  at  Hiram, 
was  born  August  15,  1823. 

"  When  she  was  twelve  years  of  age,"  says  General 
Garfield,  "  she  used  to  puzzle  her  teachers  with  ques 
tions,  and  distress  them  by  correcting  their  mistakes. 
One  of  these,  a  male  teacher,  who  was  too  proud  to 
acknowledge  the  corrections  of  a  child,  called  upon  the 
most  learned  man  in  the  town  for  help  and  advice  in 


58  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

regard  to  a  point  of  dispute  between  them.  He  was 
told  that  he  was  in  error,  and  that  he  must  acknowl 
edge  his  mistake.  The  teacher  was  manly  enough  -to 
follow  this  wise  advice,  and  thereafter  made  this  little 
girl  his  friend  and  helper.  It  was  like  her  to  help  him 
quietly  and  without  boasting.  During  her  whole  life, 
none  of  her  friends  ever  heard  an  intimation  from  her 
that  she  had  ever  achieved  an  intellectual  triumph  over 
anybody  in  the  world." 

This  incident  reveals  the  character  of  Miss  Booth. 
When  she  was  twelve,  she  was  reading  Rollin's  An 
cient  History,  and  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  She  began  as  a  teacher  in  a  log 
schoolhouse  when  she  was  seventeen.  Till  she  was 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  her  life  was  devoted  to  home 
duties,  study,  and  teaching. 

An  engagement  of  marriage  with  a  young  man  of 
great  promise  was  terminated  by  his  sudden  death. 
With  the  shadow  of  a  great  sorrow  upon  her,  the  first 
period  of  her  life  closed  ;  but  a  Christian  faith  sus 
tained  her,  and  by  slow  degrees  her  grief  gave  place 
to  a  desire  for  a  larger  culture. 

The  Eclectic  Institute  was  founded  in  1849,  and  in 
the  spring  of  1851  she  accepted  the  position  of  teacher 
in  the  English  department,  carrying  on  at  the  same 
time  her  studies  in  the  classics. 

James  A.  Garfield  became  a  student  in  the  fall  of 
that  year.  He  says  : 

"  I  saw  a  class  of  three  reciting  in  Mathematics  — 
geometry,  I  think.  I  had  never  seen  a  geometry,  and 
I  regarded  teacher  and  class  with  reverential  awe." 


STUDENT  AT  HIRAM.  69 

The  first  was  William  B.  Hazen,  during  the  Rebel 
lion  a  major-general,  serving  with  distinction  through 
the  war,  and  now  on  the  Indian  frontier.  The  second 
was  George  A.  Baker,  at  present  a  prominent  business 
man  in  Cleveland  ;  the  third,  Miss  Booth. 

General  Garfield  contrasts  her  with  Margaret  Fuller. 
The  two  were  alike  in  intellectual  force.  He  says  :  • 

"  Highly  as  I  appreciate  the  character  of  Margaret 
Fuller,  greatly  as  I  admire  her  remarkable  abilities,  I  do 
not  hesitate  to  say  that  in  no  four  years  of  her  life  did 
her  achievements,  brilliant  as  they  were,  equal  the  work 
accomplished  by  Miss  Booth  during  the  four  years 
that  followed  her  coming  to  Hiram." 

Miss  Booth  had  the  general  charge  of  the  ladies'  de 
partment,  besides  teaching  several  classes.  Her  duties 
were  arduous.  One  would  have  supposed  that  she 
would  have  little  physical  or  mental  strength  for  other 
work,  but  she  saw  that  so  long  as  she  taught  only 
English  studies  her  pupils  would  soon  be  beyond  her 
immediate  influence.  She  must  herself  have  a  higher 
scholarship,  and  began  classical  studies,  keeping  in  ad 
vance  of  her  own  pupils  and  abreast  with  the  foremost 
students  of  the  Institution.  This  brings  us  to  the 
time  when  she  began  to  be  a  help  to  the  young  student 
who  had  come  from  Geauga  to  obtain  a  wider  culture. 
They  studied  together  and  recited  together. 

"  Our  studies,"  says  General  Garfield,  "  were  the 
same."  At  that  time  the  text-books  were  kept  for  sale 
by  the  librarian,  and  from  his  memoranda  we  can  see 
how  they  got  on  in  the  classics. 

"January,  1852.   Latin  grammar  and  Caesar. 


70  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

March,  1852.     Greek  grammar. 

April,  1852.     French  grammar. 

August,  1852.     German  grammar  and  reader. 

November,  1852.  Zenophon's  Memorabilies  and 
Greek  Testament 

November,  1853.     Homer's  Iliad. 

August,  1853.    Sophocles  and  Herodotus." 

Near  the  close  of  the  term  1852,  James  A.  Garfield 
also  began  to  teach  in  the  Institute,  and  could  only 
keep  up  his  studies  outside  class-hours.  "  I  was,"  he 
says,  "  far  behind  Miss  Booth  in  mathematics  and  the 
physical  sciences  ;  but  we  were  nearly  at  the  same 
place  in  Greek  and  Latin." 

During  the  summer  vacation  of  1853,  twelve  of  the 
advanced  students  —  James  A.  Garfield  and  Miss  Booth 
among  them  —  formed  a  literary  society,  and  gave 
themselves  to  study,  reciting  to  one  of  the  professors 
whom  they  engaged.  They  read  during  those  four 
weeks  the  Pastorals  of  Virgil,  the  first  six  books  of  the 
Ilhd,  accompanied  by  a  thorough  drill  in  the  Latin  and 
Greek  grammars  at  each  recitation. 

During  the  fall  term  of  1853,  Miss  Booth  and  Gen 
eral  Garfield  read  about  one  hundred  pages  of  Herodo 
tus,  and  the  same  amount  of  Livy.  Two  evenings  of 
each  week  they  met  two  of  the  professors  to  make  a 
joint  translation  of  the  book  of  Romans.  In  General 
Garfield's  diary  is  this  entry : 

«  !3^  —  December  15.  Translation  Society  sat 
three  hours  at  Miss  Booth's  room  and  agreed  upon  the 
translation  of  nine  verses."  It  was  not  rapid,  but 
thorough  work. 


STUDENT  AT  HIRAM.  7! 

*'  The  few  spare  hours,"  says  General  Garfield, 
"  which  school-work  left  us,  were  devoted  to  such  pur 
suits  as  each  preferred,  but  much  study  was  done  in 
common.  I  can  name  twenty  or  thirty  books,  which 
will  be  doubly  precious  to  me  because  they  were  read 
and  discussed  in  company  with  her.  I  can  still  read 
between  the  lines,  the  memories  of  her  first  impressions 
of  the  page,  and  her  judgment  of  its  merits.  She  was 
always  ready  to  aid  any  friend  with  her  best  efforts." 

They  were  two  congenial  spirits,  animated  by  the 
same  ideal,  both  with  definite  objects  in  view  ;  hers 
the  wider  experience  —  the  wisdom  of  maturer  years  ; 
the  hallowed  influence  of  a  woman  who  is  living  to 
make  the  world  better,  to  lift  the  human  soul  to  a 
higher  plane  of  civilization  and  Christian  culture.  The 
influence  for  good  of  such  a  woman  is  incalculable. 

"It  is  quite  probable,"  says  General  Garfield,  "that 
John  Stuart  Mill  has  exaggerated  the  extent  to  which 
his  own  mind  and  works  were  influenced  by  Harriet 
Mills.  I  should  reject  his  opinion  on  that  subject  as  a 
delusion,  did  I  not  know  from  my  own  experience,  as 
well  as  that  of  hundreds  of  Hiram  students,  how  great 
a  power  Miss  Booth  exercised  over  the  culture  and 
opinions  of  her  friends." 

Miss  Booth  died  in  1875.  General  Garfield  gave  an 
address  in  memoriam  of  her  at  Hiram  the  following 
year,  in  which  he  tenderly  and  affectionately  acknowl 
edges  his  great  indebtedness  to  her.  To  him  she  was 
ever  an  angel  of  light.  How  great  her  transforming 
powers  !  He  had  been  three  years  at  Chester,  two  at 
Hiram ;  how  far  behind  him  were  those  months  upon 


;2  JAMES  A.   GARF1ELD. 

the  canal !  How  vast  the  sea  on  which  he  was  spread 
ing  his  sail ! 

There  was  no  let-up  in  the  struggle,  but  rather  in 
creased  activity.  He  pushed  the  plane  and  worked  as 
carpenter,  shingled  houses,  —  doing  anything  in  that 
line  that  he  could  turn  his  hand  to.  Many  of  the 
houses  in  the  village  of  Hiram  were  covered  with 
boards,  which  were  planed  and  nailed  upon  the  joists 
by  this  student,  with  a  great  purpose  in  view.  When 
he  was  making  the  shavings  fly  in  the  early  morning 
before  breakfast,  he  was  going  over  his  lessons  for  the 
day.  When  making  the  welkin  ring  with  his  pounding, 
he  was  at  the  same*  time  hammering  away  at  Cicero  or 
Sallust.  On  Saturdays  he  could  use  his  muscles  all 
day  and  earn  nearly  enough  to  carry  him  through  the 
next  week.  Yet  somehow  he  found  time  to  play,  and 
there  was  not  a  young  man  in  the  Institute  who  was 
his  superior  at  pitching  quoits,  or  at  other  games  re 
quiring  skill  and  the  exercise  of  judgment.  He  wanted 
everybody  to  take  part  in  the  games  and  enjoy  the  fun. 
As  he  took  up  the  bat  one  day  for  a  game  of  ball,  he 
chanced  to  see  some  small  boys  in  a  corner  looking 
wistfully  on.  The  principals  had  chosen  sides,  and  left 
the  little  ones  out. 

"  Are  not  those  boys  in  the  game  ? "  he  asked. 

"  What !  those  little  chaps  ?  Of  course  not ;  they 
would  spoil  the  game." 

"  But  they  want  to  play  just  as  much  as  we  do.  Let 
them  come  in  !  " 

"  No  !  We  don't  want  the  game  spoiled.  They  can't 
play  !  " 


STUDENT  AT  HIRAM.  73 

"  Neither  shall  I,  if  they  cannot." 

He  threw  the  bat  on  the  ground.  His  decision  was 
made  instantly. 

Of  course  the  game  would  not  be  quite  so  sharp  with 
those  inexperienced  little  fellows  in  it;  but  what  was 
the  game  for  ?  Was  it  not  for  all  to  have  a  good  time  ? 
His  kind  heart  and  democratic  instinct  took  in  every 
body,  and  he  carried  the  day.  The  play  could  not  well 
go  on  without  him.  The  little  boys  came  in,  and  every 
body  had  part  in  the  fun. 

The  Eclectic  Institute,  though  without  endowment, 
was  a  good  preparatory  school.  Its  character  is  best 
portrayed  by  General  Garfield  himself,  in  a  speech 
made  within  its  walls  on  the  nth  of  June  last,  at 
an  annual  reunion  of  the  alumni.  He  spoke  of  its 
founders : 

"  They  were  pioneers  to  this  Western  Reserve.  They 
were  all  men  of  energy,  great  force  of  character,  and 
nearly  all  of  them  men  of  small  means  ;  but  they  planted 
this  institution.  In  1850  it  was  a  green  field,  with  a 
solid,  plain  brick  building  in  the  center  of  it,  and  al 
most  all  the  rest  has  been  done  by  the  institution  itself. 
This  is  the  second  chapter.  Without  a  dollar  of  en 
dowment,  without  a  powerful  friend  anywhere,  but 
with  a  corps  of  teachers  who  were  told  to  go  on  the 
ground  and  see  what  they  could  make  out  of  it,  and  to 
find  their  pay  out  of  .the  tuitions  that  should  be  re 
ceived,  who  invited  students  of  their  own  spirit  to  come 
here  on  the  ground  and  find  out  by  trial  what  they 
could  make  out  of  it,  and  the  response  has  been  their 


74  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

chapter  of  work,  and  the  chief  part  of  the  response  I 
see  in  the  faces  gathered  before  me  to-day.  It  was  a 
simple  question,  of  sinking  or  swimming.  I  know  that 
we  are  all  inclined  to  be  a  little  clannish  for  our  own, 
—  perhaps  we  have  a  right  to  be,  —  but  I  do  not  know 
of  any  place,  I  do  not  know  of  any  institution  that  has 
accomplishedmore  with  so  little  means  than  this  school 
on  Hiram  hill. 

"  I  know  of  no  place  where  the  doctrine  of  self-help 
has  had  a  fuller  development,  by  necessity  as  well  as  by 
favor,  as  here  on  this  hill.  The  doctrine  of  the  survival 
of  the  fittest  found  its  place  amongst  these  men  and 
women  gathered  here.  As  I  said  a  great  many  years 
ago  about  them — the  theory  of  Hiram  was  to  throw 
its  young  men  and  women  overboard  and  let  them 
try  it  for  themselves,  and  all  that  were  fit  to  get  ashore 
got  there,  and  I  think  we  had  few  cases  of  drowning 
anywhere.  Now,  when  I  look  over  these  faces,  and  I 
mark  the  several  geologic  ages,  and  note  the  curious 
fact  why  the  geological  analogy  does  not  hold,  I  find  no 
fossils  —  no  fossils  at  all.  Some  are  dead  and  glorified 
in  our  memories,  but  those  who  are  alive  are  ALIVE, — 
I  think  all.  The  teachers  and  the  students  of  this 
school  built  it  up  in  every  sense ;  they  made  the  corn 
field  into  that  handsome  campus.  These  evergreens 
you  see  across  the  road  they  planted.  I  well  remember 
the  day  they  turned  out  and  went  into  the  woods  to 
find  beautiful  maples,  and  brought  them  in  ;  when  they 
purchased  those  evergreens  ;  when  each  young  man  for 
himself,  and  perhaps  a  second  for  some  young  lady  that 
he  loved,  planted  one  or  two  trees  on  the  campus,  and 


STUDENT  AT  HIRAM. 


75 


named  them  after  himself.  There  are  many  here  with 
moist  eyes  to-day  that  can  point  out  the  tree  that  Bolar 
planted.  Bolar  was  shot  through  the  heart  at  Win 
chester  battle.  Many  of  you  can  point  out  trees  —  big 
trees  now  —  called  after  you  many  years  ago.  I  believe, 
outside  of  the  physical  features  of  the  place,  that  there 
was  a  stronger  pressure  of  work  to  the  square  inch  in 
the  boilers  that  ran  this  establishment  than  any  other 
I  know  of.  Young  men  and  women,  rough,  crude,  un 
tutored  farmer  boys  and  farmer  girls,  came  here  to  try 
themselves  and  find  what  manner  of  people  they  were. 
They  came  here  to  go  on  a  voyage  of  discovery  to  dis 
cover  themselves.  In  many  cases  I  hope  .the  discovery 
was  fortunate  in  all  that  was  worthy  of  trying,  and  the 
friendships  that  were  formed  out  of  that  struggle  have 
followed  this  group  of  people  longer  and  farther  than 
almost  any  I  have  ever  known  in  life.  They  are 
scattered  all  over  the  United  States,  in  every  field  of 
activity,  and  if  I  had  the  time  to  name  them  the  sun 
would  go  down  before  I  had  finished." 

James  A.  Garfield  remained  at  Hiram  till  the  sum 
mer  of  1854,  teaching  in  winter,  working  as  carpenter, 
in  the  haying  or  harvest  field,  in  summer  and  autumn, 
keeping  up  with  his  studies. 

"  Before  he  left  the  Institute,"  says  Whitelaw  Reid, 
in  "Ohio  in  the  War,"  "he  was  the  best  Latin  and 
Greek  scholar  that  school  ever  saw." 


VAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 


VII. 
STUDENT  AT   WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 

HOW  strangely  little  things  give  direction  to  the 
affairs  of  life  !  Insignificant  events  are  not  un- 
frequently  followed  by  momentous  results.  One  school 
of  philosophy  regards  the  unfolding  of  events  as  only 
a  series  of  coincidences  ;  but  there  is  another  school 
which  recognizes  an  overruling  Providence,  working  by 
law,  as  giving  direction  to  human  affairs.  Very  won 
derfully  some  things  come  to  pass  in  this  world  of  ours. 
The  hand  of  Ursula  Cotta  beckoning  to  the  poor,  shiv 
ering  boy,  Martin  Luther,  on  a  cold  winter  morning, 
and  her  motherly  voice  calling  him  to  a  place  by  her 
kitchen  fire  and  to  a  warm  breakfast,  are  inseparable 
from  his  life :  they  are  a  part  of  the  Reformation. 
How  happened  it  that  behind  the  passion  of  Henry 
VIII.  for  Anne  Boleyn,  should  be  the  separation  of  Eng 
land  from  the  Church  of  Rome  and  all  the  mighty  re 
sults  to  civilization  and  Christianity  that  came  from  that 
event  ? 

What  is  true  of  nations  is  true  of  individuals.  There 
are  turning-points  in  life  —  places  where  we  take  new 
departures.  It  was  a  turning-point  in  James  A.  Gar- 
field's  life  when  he  stood  upon  the  threshold  of  his 


STUDENT  AT  WILLIAMS  COLLEGE.  77 

humble  home  in  the  evening  gloaming,  and  felt  the  hot 
tears  upon  his  cheeks  while  listening  to  the  voice  of 
his  mother  pleading  with  God  to  bless  her  absent  boy. 
The  turning  at  that  hour  was  to  the  right  about  and 
the  starting  on  a  new  path.  It  was  a  new  impulse,  or  a 
quickening  of  his  steps  along  the  same  road,  when  he 
started  with  his  tin  dipper,  plate,  frying-pan,  algebra, 
and  arithmetic  for  the  academy  at  Chester.  It  was  the 
stepping  into  a  wider  field  when  he  became  a  student 
at  the  Eclectic  Institute.  He  had  prepared  for  college. 
What  college  should  he  enter  ? 

"  You  will  go  to  Bethany,  of  course,"  said  his  friends. 

"  Why  Bethany  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  It  is  the  Disciples'  College." 

That  was  the  narrow  view ;  but  the  young  man  ot 
twenty-one  was  looking  beyond  sect.  There  are  men 
who  complacently  regard  the  place  where  they  live 
as  the  center  of  the  world.  The  young  man  who  had 
spent  two  years  at  Hiram,  saw  that,  excellent  as  the 
institution  at  Bethany  was  supposed  to  be,  there  were 
other  colleges  more  generously  endowed  and  able  to 
give  a  wider  culture. 

A  book  fresh  from  the  press  came  to  his  hands  one 
day.  He  had  read  many  books.  "  Jack  Halyard " 
had  fascinated  him  once,  and  out  of  that  fascina 
tion  came  his  experience  on  the  canal.  This  book 
which  now  came  to  his  hands  was  a  book  of  philoso 
phy,  as  charming  in  its  way  as  that  with  yellow  cover 
years  before.  Its  author  was  one  of  America's  great 
thinkers,  Mark  Hopkins,  President  of  Williams  Col 
lege,  Mass.,  who  was  getting  at  the  bottom  of  things. 


78  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

by  making  inquiries  into  their  why  and  wherefore. 
After  the  "Jack  Halyard"  of  his  boyhood,  no  other 
book,  aside  from  the  Bible,  ever  made  so  deep  and  abiding 
an  impression  on  James  A.  Garfield  as  this  work  on 
moral  philosophy,  by  President  Hopkins.  It  set  him 
to  thinking  and  guided  his  thoughts  in  a  new  direc 
tion.  It  was  another  turning-point  in  life. 

The  outcome  of  his  thinking  was  the  writing  of  a 
letter  to  President  Hopkins,  another  to  the  President 
of  Brown  University  of  Providence,  and  a  third  to  the 
President  of  Yale,  stating  his  attainments,  his  pecun 
iary  position,  and  making  inquiries  as  to  the  probable 
time  of  his  graduation.  He  received  replies  from  each, 
and  decided  to  connect  himself  with  the  institution  that 
had  for  its  president  the  man  whose  philosophical  lec 
tures  had  so  deeply  impressed  him.  In  a  letter  written 
at  the  time,  Mr.  Garfield  states  his  reasons  for  making 
this  decision. 

"  There  are  three  reasons  why  I  have  decided  not  to 
go  to  Bethany  :  First,  the  course  of  study  is  not  so 
extensive  as  that  in  Eastern  colleges  ;  second,  Beth 
any  leans  too  heavily  toward  slavery ;  third,  I  am  the 
son  of  Disciple  parents,  am  one  myself,  and  have  had 
but  little  acquaintance  with  people  of  other  views  ;  and 
having  always  lived  in  the  West,  I  think  it  will  make 
me  more  liberal,  both  in  my  religion  and  general  views 
and  sentiments,  to  go  into  a  new  circle  where  I  shall 
be  under  new  influences. 

"  These  considerations  lead  me  to  conclude  to  go  to 
some  New  England  college.  I  therefore  wrote  to 
the  Presidents  of  Brown  University,  Yale,  and  Williams, 


STUDENT  AT  WILLIAMS  COLLEGE.  jg 

setting  forth  the  amount  of  study  I  had  done,  and 
asking  them  how  long  it  would  take  me  to  finish  the 
course.  The  answers  are  now  before  me.  All  tell  me 
I  can  graduate  in  two  years.  They  are  all  brief  busi 
ness  notes,  but  President  Hopkins  concluded  with  this 
sentence :  '  If  you  come  here,  we  shall  be  glad  to  do 
what  we  can  for  you.' 

"  Other  things  being  so  nearly  equal,  this  sentence, 
which  seems  to  be  a  kind  of  friendly  grasp  of  the  hand, 
has  settled  the  question  for  me.  I  shall  start  for  Wil 
liams  next  week." 

Having  decided  to  go  to  Williams,  the  next  question 
was  one  of  ways  and  means.  The  college  would  be 
more  expensive  than  the  institute  had  been.  He  could 
not  expect  to  rely  upon  bell-ringing,  sweeping  and 
dusting,  or  the  plane  or  square,  for  subsistence.  He 
could  do  something  in  winter  at  teaching,  but  if  he 
was  going  through  college  he  must  mortgage  the  future. 
He  must  rely  on  credit.  He  had  brains,  muscles,  and 
vigorous  health,  and  confidence  in  himself.  His  uncle 
had  confidence  in  him  and  loaned  him  money.  James 
A.  Garfield  was  not  the  man  to  take  it  without  giving 
some  security ;  he  would  give  all  he  had,  his  life  if  need 
be.  He  insured  his  life,  and  had  the  policy  made  out  in 
his  uncle's  favor  without  any  desire  or  suggestion  of 
such  a  procedure  from  the  uncle.  If  he  were  to  die, 
the  uncle  would  be  paid  ;  if  he  got  through  college,  he 
would  also  be  paid  in  time. 

He  entered  Williams  in  1854,  tall,  gaunt,  wearing 
ill-fitting  clothes.  He  did  not  come  as  a  Freshman, 
but  entered  upon  the  Junior  course.  There  was  some- 


80  JAMES  A,   GARFIELD. 

thing  about  him  that  commanded  the  respect  of  his 
fellow-students  at  the  outset.  He  had  convictions  of 
his  own,  and  maintained  them  fearlessly.  Me  took 
high  rank  in  his  class,  was  foremost  in  the  games  foi 
recreation.  He  took  high  rank  as  a  debater.  He 
sometimes  wrote  poetry.  The  following,  from  his  pen, 
was  printed  in  the  Williams  Quarterly,  1854. 

AUTUMN. 

Old  Autumn,  thou  art  here!     Upon  the  earth 

And  in  the  heavens  the  signs  of  death  are  hung; 

For  o'er  the  earth's  brown  breast  stalks  pale  decay, 

And  'mong  the  lowering  clouds  the  wild  winds  wail, 

And  sighing  sadly,  shout  the  solemn  dirge 

O'er  Summer's  fairest  flowers,  all  faded  now. 

The  winter  god,  descending  from  the  skies, 

Has  reached  the  mountain  tops,  and  decked  their  brows 

With  glittering  frosty  crowns,  and  breathed  his  breath 

Among  the  trumpet  pines,  that  herald  forth 

His  coming. 

Before  the  driving  blast 

The  mountain  oak  bows  down  his  hoary  head, 
And  flings  his  withered  locks  to  the  rough  gales 
That  fiercely  roar  among  his  branches  bare, 
Uplifted  to  the  dark,  unpitying  heavens. 
The  skies  have  put  their  mourning  garments  on, 
And  hung  their  funeral  drapery  on  the  clouds. 
Dead  nature  soon  will  wear  her  shroud  of  snow, 
And  lie  entombed  in  Winter's  icy  grave. 

Thus  passes  life.     As  heavy  age  comes  on, 
The  joys  of  youth —  bright  beauties  of  the  Spring  — 
Grow  dim  and  faded,  and  the  long  dark  night 
Of  death's  chill  winter  comes.     But  as  the  Spring 
Rebuilds  the  ruined  wrecks  of  Winter's  waste, 
And  cheers  the  gloomy  earth  with  joyous  light 
So  o'er  the  tomb  the  star  of  hope  shall  rise 
And  usher  in  an  ever-during  day. 


STUDENT  AT  WILLIAMS  COLLEGE.  gj 

While  General  Garfield  was  in  college  the  anti- 
slavery  excitement  was  running  high,  and  was  greatly 
intensified  by  the  speeches  of  Charles  Sumner  in 
Congress,  and  the  attack  upon  him  by  Preston  Brooks, 
member  of  Congress  from  South  Carolina,  beating  him 
over  the  head  with  a  cane  till  he  was  senseless.  In 
dignation  meetings  were  held  throughout  the  North. 
One  was  held  in  Williamstown,  at  which  James  A. 
Garfield  made  a  speech,  which  made  a  deep  impression 
on  the  audience  for  its  earnest  reasoning,  eloquence, 
and  force. 

During  the  winter  he  taught  school  at  Pownal,  Ver 
mont.  A  tailor,  at  Troy,  furnished  him  with  a  ten- 
dollar  suit  of  clothes  on  credit,  a  debt  which  the 
student  cancelled  from  his  first  earnings. 

He  graduated  in  1856,  giving,  on  commencement 
day,  the  "  Metaphysical "  oration.  He  had  accom 
plished  his  "  definite  purpose,"  but  he  was  five  hundred 
dollars  in  debt. 

All  through  the  years,  since  the  deliberate  formation 
of  that  purpose,  he  had  struggled  on,  never  swerving 
from  his  plan. 

Professor  Chadbourne,  now  President  of  Williams 
College,  was  exercising  his  duties  as  professor  during 
Mr.  Garfield's  connection  with  the  college.  He  thus 
speaks  of  him  : 

"  One  day  a  tall,  staid  fellow,  with  a  modest  bearing, 
visited  the  college  and  announced  his  intention  of 
attending.  He  entered  the  college  and  went  through 
the  college  course.  When  the  time  for  graduation 
arrived  lie  was  invited  to  and  did  deliver  the  meta- 


82  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

physical  oration,  which  is  an  honor.  It  is  an  hoLor 
conferred  upon  a  student  to  be  invited  to  deliver  the 
metaphysical  oration,  as  it  shows  the  improvement  he 
has  made,  and  the  opinion  of  the  teachers  with  regard 
to  his  powers  of  analysis.  And  just  here  let  me  say 
that  the  same  characteristic  marked  him  all  the  way 
through.  He  was  a  clear,  thorough  logician,  as  it  has 
been  said.  He  went  out  from  college  bearing  with  him 
the  good  will  of  all  those  men  left  upon  the  ground. 

"  The  college  life  of  General  Garfield  was  so  perfect, 
so  rounded,  so  pure,  so  in  accordance  with  what  it 
ought  to  be  in  all  respects,  that  I  can  add  nothing  to  it 
by  eulogizing  him.  It  was  a  noble  college  life  ;  there 
are  no  stories  to  be  told  of  General  Garfield  as  a  college 
student.  On  the  contrary,  everything  about  him  was 
high  and  noble  and  manly.  The  man  in  college  gave 
promise  of  what  the  man  is  to-day.  And  so,  when 
some  charges  were  made  against  him  some  years  ago, 
I  wrote  to  General  Garfield,  and  have  said  in  speeches 
since  that  time,  that  when  a  young  man  goes  through 
a  college  course  without  exhibiting  a  mean  or  dishonest 
trait,  and  then  goes  out  and  lives  so  as  to  impress 
upon  other  men  the  idea  that  he  has  been  true  at  all 
times  and  in  all  places,  it  will  take  a  great  deal  of 
proof  to  convince  me  that  that  man  has  forsaken  the 
path  he  trod  so  long.  And  I  have  seen  nothing  to 
shake  my  confidence  in  General  Garfield  from  the  day 
he  entered  college  until  to-day,  as  he  stands  up  before 
the  people  as  candidate  for  President  of  the  United 
States.  He  commenced  life  aright,  and  he  has  lived 
aright  all  the  way  through." 


PRESIDENT   OF  PI  I  RAM  COLLEGE. 


VIII. 
PRESIDENT   OF   HIRAM  COLLEGE. 

THE  "  definite  object,"  the  grand  ideal  which  James 
A.  Garfield  had  in  mind  for  eight  years,  was  to 
be  a  teacher.  It  was  a  star  in  the  east  that  had  led 
him  on. 

"  You  will  confer,"  said  Epictetus  of  old,  "  the  great 
est  benefit  on  your  city,  not  by  raising  roofs,  but  by 
exalting  the  souls  of  your  fellow-citizens." 

This  young  man  had  raised  roofs  upon  the  dwellings 
of  his  fellow-citizens  ;  but  now  he  was  to  be  an  exalter 
of  souls. 

He  had  been  doing  it  in  the  public  schools,  and  now 
he  was  to  enter  upon  a  wider  career.  He  had  left  such 
an  impress  at  Hiram  while  a  student,  had  attained  such 
wealth  of  knowledge  at  Williams,  together  with  an 
ever-increasing  enthusiasm,  that  he  was  at  once  em 
ployed  as  teacher  of  the  ancient  languages,  and  soon 
after  was  elected  President  of  Hiram  Institute. 

He  was  twenty-five  years  of  age.  In  eight  years  he 
had  advanced  from  the  tow-path  on  the  canal  to  the 
position  of  director  of  an  institution  whose  annual 
catalogue  showed  from  four  to  five  hundred  pupils  in 
attendance 


84  JAMES  A.   GARFTELD. 

A  letter  to  an  acquaintance  who  was  fighting  the 
battle  of  life  under  discouraging  circumstances  was 
written  at  this  time,  and  is  worthy  of  insertion  in  this 
biography,  as  showing  his  wise  counsel. 

"BROTHER  MINE:  It  is  not  a  question  to  be  dis 
cussed  in  the  spirit  of  debate,  but  to  be  thought  over  and 
prayed  over  as  a  question  '  out  of  which  are  the  issues 
of  life.'  You  will  agree  with  me  that  every  one  must 
decide  and  direct  his  own  course  in  life,  and  the  only 
service  friends  can  afford  is  to  give  us  the  data  from 
which  we  must  draw  our  own  conclusion  and  decide 
our  course.  Allow  me,  then,  to  sit  beside  you  and 
look  over  the  field  of  life  and  see  what  are  its  aspects. 
I  am  not  one  of  those  who  advise  every  one  to  under 
take  the  work  of  a  liberal  education  ;  indeed,  I  believe 
that  in  two-thirds  of  the  cases  such  advice  would  be 
unwise.  The  great  body  of  the  people  will  be,  and 
ought  to  be,  (intelligent)  farmers  and  mechanics,  and 
in  many  respects  these  pass  the  most  independent  and 
happy  lives.  But  God  has  endowed  some  of  his  chil 
dren  with  desires  and  capabilities  for  a  more  extended 
field  of  labor  and  influence,  and  so  every  life  should  be 
shaped  according  to  '  what  the  man  hath.'  Now,  in 
reference  to  yourself,  I  know  you  have  capabilities  for 
occupying  positions  of  high  and  important  trust  in  the 
scenes  of  active  life ;  and  I  am  sure  you  will  not  call 
it  flattery  in  me,  nor  egotism  in  yourself,  to  say  so. 
Tell  me,  do  you  not  feel  a  spirit  stirring  within  you 
that  longs  to  know,  to  do,  and  to  dare  to  hold  converse 
with  the  great  world  of  thought,  and  hold  before  you 


PRESIDENT  OF  HIRAM  COLLEGE.  85 

some  high  and  noble  object  to  which  the  vigor  of  youi 
mind  and  the  strength  of  your  arm  may  be  given  ?  Do 
you  not  have  longings  like  these,  which  you  breathe  to 
no  one,  and  which  you  feel  must  be  heeded,  or  you  will 
pass  through  life  unsatisfied  and  regretful  ?  I  am  sure 
you  have  them,  and  they  will  forever  cling  round  your 
heart  till  you  obty  their  mandate.  They  are  the  voice 
of  that  nature  which  God  has  given  you,  and  which, 
when  obeyed,  will  bless  you  and  your  fellow-men.  Now 
all  this  might  be  true,  and  yet  it  might  be  your  duty 
not  to  follow  that  course.  If  your  duty  to  your  father 
or  your  mother  demands  that  you  take  another,  I  shall 
rejoice  to  see  you  taking  that  other  course.  The  path 
of  duty  is  where  we  all  ought  to  walk,  be  that  where  it 
may.  But  I  sincerely  hope  you  will  not,  without  an 
earnest  struggle,  give  up  a  course  of  liberal  study. 
Suppose  you  could  not  begin  your  study  again  till  after 
your  majority.  It  will  not  be  too  late  then,  but  you 
will  gain  in  many  respects  ;  you  will  have  more  maturity 
of  mind  to  appreciate  whatever  you  may  study.  You 
may  say  you  will  be  too  old  to  begin  the  course,  but 
how  could  you  better  spend  the  earlier  days  of  life  ? 
We  should  not  measure  life  by  the  days  and  moments 
that  we  pass  on  earth. 

'• '  The  life  is  measured  by  the  soul's  advance; 

The  enlargement  of  its  powers;  the  expanded  field 

Wherein  it  ranges,  till  it  burns  and  glows 

With  heavenly  joy,  with  high  and  heavenly  hope.' 

"  It  need  be  no  discouragement  that  you  be  obliged  to 
hew  your  own  way,  and  pay  your  own  charges.     You 


86  JAMES  A.    GARFIELti. 

can  go  to  school  two  terms  every  year,  and  pay  your 
own  way.  I  know  this,  for  I  did  so  when  teacher'.! 
wages  were  much  lower  than  they  are  now.  It  is  a 
great  truth  that  '  where  there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way.' 
It  may  be  that  by  and  by  your  father  could  assist  you. 
It  may  be  that  even  now  he  could  let  you  commence 
on  your  resources  so  that  you  could  begin  immediately. 
Of  this  you  know  and  I  do  not.  I  need  not  tell  you 
how  glad  I  should  be  to  assist  you  in  your  work,  but  if 
you  cannot  come  to  Hiram  while  I  am  here  I  shall 
still  hope  to  hear  that  you  are  determined  to  go  on  as 
soon  as  the  time  will  permit." 

His  success  as  an  instructor  was  marked.  The  In 
stitute  was  overrun  with  pupils.  One  of  his  students, 
Rev.  J.  L.  Darsie,  of  Danbury,  Conn.,  thus  writes  of 
his  methods  and  ways  : 

"  I  recall  vividly  his  method  of  teaching.  He  took 
very  kindly  to  me,  and  assisted  me  in  various  ways,  be 
cause  I  was  poor  and  was  janitor  of  the  buildings,  and 
swept  them  out  in  the  morning  and  built  the  fires,  as 
he  had  done  only  six  years  before,  when  he  was  a  pupil 
at  the  same  school.  He  was  full  of  animal  spirits,  and 
he  used  to  run  out  on  the  green  almost  every  day  and 
play  cricket  with  us.  He  was  a  tall,  strong  man,  but 
dreadfully  awkward.  Every  now  and  then  he  would 
get  a  hit  on  the  nose,  and  he  muffed  his  ball  and  lost 
his  hat  as  a  regular  thing.  He  was  left-handed,  too, 
and  that  made  him  seem  all  the  clumsier.  But  he  was 
most  powerful  and  very  quick,  and  it  was  easy  for  us  to 
understand  how  it  was  that  he  had  acquired  the  repu* 


PRESIDENT   OF  HIRAM  COLLEGE.  g/ 

tation  of  whipping  all  the  other  mule-drivers  on  the 
canal,  and  of  making  himself  the  hero  of  that  thorough 
fare  when  he  followed  its  tow-path  ten  years  earlier. 

"  No  matter  how  old  the  pupils  were,  Garfield  always 
called  us  by  our  first  names,  and  kept  himself  on  the 
most  familiar  terms  with  all.  He  played  with  us  freely, 
scuffled  with  us  sometimes,  walked  with  us  in  walking 
to  and  fro,  and  we  treated  him  out  of  the  class-room 
just  about  as  we  did  one  another.  Yet  he  was  a  most 
strict  disciplinarian,  and  enforced  the  rules  like  a  mar 
tinet.  He  combined  an  affectionate  and  confiding 
manner  with  respect  for  order  in  a  most  successful 
manner.  If  he  wanted  to  speak  to  a  pupil,  either  for 
reproof  or  approbation,  he  would  generally  manage  to 
get  one  arm  around  him  and  draw  him  close  up  to  him. 
He  had  a  peculiar  way  of  shaking  hands,  too,  giving  a 
twist  to  your  arm  and  drawing  you  right  up  to  him. 
This  sympathetic  manner  has  helped  him  to  advance 
ment.  When  I  was  janitor  he  used  sometimes  to  stop 
me  and  ask  my  opinion  about  this  and  that,  as  if  seri 
ously  advising  with  me.  I  can  see  now  that  my  opinion 
could  not  have  been  of  any  value,  and  that  he  probably 
asked  me  partly  to  increase  my  self-respect,  and  partly 
to  show  me  that  he  felt  an  interest  in  me.  I  certainly 
was  his  friend  all  the  firmer  for  it. 

"  I  remember  once  asking  him  what  was  the  best 
way  to  pursue  a  certain  study,  and  he  said :  'Use  sev 
eral  text-books.  Get  the  views  of  different  authors  as 
you  advance.  In  that  way  you  can  plow  a  broader 
furrow.  I  always  study  in  that  way.'.  He  tried  hard 
to  teach  us  to  observe  carefully  and  accurately.  He 


88  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

broke  out  one  day  in  the  midst  of  a  lesson  with, 
'  Henry,  how  many  posts  are  there  under  the  building 
down-stairs?'  Henry  expressed  his  opinion,  and  the 
question  went  around  the  class,  hardly  one  getting  it 
right.  Then  it  was :  '  How  many  boot-scrapers  are 
there  at  the  door  ? '  '  How  many  windows  in  the  build 
ing  ? '  '  How  many  trees  in  the  field  ? '  '  What  were 
the  colors  of  different  rooms,  and  the  peculiarities  of  any 
familiar  objects  ? '  He  was  the  keenest  observer  I  ever 
saw.  I  think  he  noticed  and  numbered  every  button 
on  our  coats.  A  friend  of  mine  was  walking  with  him 
through  Cleveland  one  day,  when  Garfield  stopped  and 
darted  down  a  cellar-way,  asking  his  companion  to  fol- 
fow,  and  briefly  pausing  to  explain  himself.  The  sign, 
'  Saws  and  Files,'  was  over  the  door,  and  in  the  depths 
was  heard  a  regular  clicking  sound.  '  I  think  this  fel 
low  is  cutting  files,'  said  he,  '  and  I  have  never  seen  a 
file  cut.'  Down  they  went,  and  sure  enough,  there  was 
a  man  recutting  an  old  file,  and  they  stayed  there  ten 
minutes  and  found  out  all  about  the  process.  Garfield 
would  never  go  by  anything  without  understanding  it. 
"  Mr.  Garfield  was  very  fond  of  lecturing  to  the  school. 
He  spoke  two  or  three  times  a  week  on  all  manner  of 
topics,  generally  scientific,  though  sometimes  literary 
or  historical.  He  spoke  with  great  freedom,  never 
writing  out  what  he  had  to  say  ;  and  I  now  think  that 
his  lectures  were  a  rapid  compilation  of  his  current 
reading,  and  that  he  threw  it  into  this  form  partly  for 
the  purpose  of  impressing  it  on  his  own  mind.  His 
facility  of  speech  was  learned  when  he  was  a  pupil 
there.  The  societies  had  a  rule  that  every  student 


PRESIDENT   OF  HIRAM  COLLEGE.  89 

should  take  his  stand  on  the  platform  and  speak  for 
five  minutes  on  any  topic  suggested  at  the  moment  by 
the  audience.  It  was  a  very  trying  ordeal.  Garfield 
broke  down  badly  the  two  first  times  he  tried  to  speak, 
but  persisted,  and  was  at  last,  when  he  went  to  Wil 
liams,  one  of  the  best  of  the  five-minute  speakers. 
When  he  returned  as  Principal,  his  readiness  was  strik 
ing  and  remarkable. 

"  At  the  time  1  was  at  school  at  Hiram,  Principal  Gar- 
field  was  a  great  reader,  not  omnivorous,  but  method 
ical  and  in  certain  lines.  He  was  the  most  industrious 
man  I  ever  knew  or  heard  of.  At  one  time  he  delivered 
lectures  on  geology,  held  public  debates  on  spiritualism, 
preached  on  Sunday,  conducted  the  recitations  of  five 
or  six  classes  every  day,  attended  to  all  the  financial 
affairs  of  the  school,  was  an  active  member  of  the  legis 
lature,  and  studied  law  to  be  admitted  to  the  bar.  He 
has  often  said  that  he  never  could  have  performed  this 
labor  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  assistance  of  two  gifted 
and  earnest  women,  —  Mrs.  Garfield  herself,  his  early 
schoolmate,  who  had  followed  her  husband  in  his 
studies  ;  and  Miss  Almeda  A.  Booth,  a  member  of  the 
Faculty.  The  latter  was  a  graduate  of  Oberlin,  and 
had  been  a  teacher  of  young  Garfield  when  he  was  a 
pupil,  and  now  that  he  had  returned  as  head  of  the 
Faculty,  she  continued  to  serve  him  in  a  sort  of  moth 
erly  way  as  tutor  and  guide.  When  Garfield  had 
speeches  to  make  in  the  legislature  or  on  the  stump,  or 
lectures  to  deliver,  these  two  ladies  ransacked  the 
library  by  day,  and  collected  facts  and  marked  books 
for  his  digestion  and  use  in  the  preparation  of  the  dis- 


90  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

courses  at  night.  Mr.  Garfield  always  acknowledged 
his  great  obligation  to  Miss  Almeda  Booth,  and  at  her 
death,  recently,  he  delivered  one  of  the  most  touching 
and  eloquent  addresses  of  his  life." 

From  the  beginning  of  his  religious  life,  Mr.  Garfield 
had  taken  part  in  prayer  and  conference  meetings. 
The  Disciple  Church  allows  great  liberty  to  laymen 
Any  one  who  is  moved  to  preach  may  do  so.  While  a 
teacher  at  Hiram,  he  began  preaching.  He  was  not 
ordained,  but  was  simply  a  layman  using  whatever 
ability  God  had  given  him.  He  was  as  efficient  in 
that  line  as  when  conducting  the  recitations  of  the 
classes.  He  had  a  wider  culture  than  many  of  the 
preachers  of  the  order  of  the  Disciples,  and  those  who 
listened  to  his  sermons  looked  forward  to  the  time 
when  he  would  be  a  great  light  in  the  church.  The 
influence  of  President  Hopkins  of  Williams  College 
was  showing  itself  in  his  mental  training.  The  ability 
to  get  at  the  bottom  of  things,  the  fertility  of  illus 
tration,  the  easy  flow,  of  language,  his  wide  reading 
and  familiarity  with  the  best  authors,  —  gave  him  rare 
power  as  teacher  and  preacher. 

He  had  started  out  to  be  a  teacher,  but  was  not 
content  with  that  alone.  The  philosophy  which  he 
had  learned  at  Williams  based  everything  on  law. 
There  was  a  divine  order  in  things.  There  must  be 
order  in  everything.  Law  was  at  the  foundation  of 
government.  Society  could  not  exist  without  law. 
He  determined  to  enter  upon  a  course  of  law  studies, 
not  so  much  with  the  intention  of  becoming  a  lawyer 
as  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  principles  of  law.  He 


PRESIDENT   OF  HIRAM  COLLEGE.  9] 

had  no  idea  of  abandoning  his  chosen  profession  to 
spend  his  energies  in  law  practice,  but  the  principles 
of  law  were  needed  to  round  his  knowledge  and  in 
crease  his  power. 

While  attending  to  his  multifarious  duties  as  teacher, 
giving  lectures  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects,  preaching 
on  Sundays,  he  began,  in  1857,  the  study  of  law.  A 
gentleman  who  studied  with  him  says : 

"  He  had  a  wonderful  power  of  synopsizing.  He 
could  give  a  book  from  beginning  to  end.  He  had  the 
faculty  of  picking  out  the  kernel  and  rejecting  the 
shell." 

He  was  in  no  lawyer's  office  —  read  under  no  attor 
ney's  tuition  —  but  carried  on  his  reading  in  connection 
with  his  other  duties.  He  was  admitted  to  practice, 
but  he  could  not  spend  his  time  over  the  petty  cases 
in  the  county  court.  What  came  of  this  preparation 
we  shall  see  further  on. 

While  he  was  attending  school  at  Geauga  Institute, 
boarding  himself,  cooking  his  meat  in  a  frying-pan, 
wearing  his  blue  jean  pants,  he  made  the  acquaintance 
of  a  young  girl  —  Lucretia  Rudolph.  There  was  this 
in  common  between  them,  they  were  both  poor.  The 
parents  of  the  young  lady  were  struggling  to  make 
both  ends  of  the  year  meet,  and  denying  themselves 
that  their  daughter  might  obtain  an  education.  The 
acquaintance  between  the  boy  from  the  tow  path  of 
the  canal  and  the  farmer's  daughter  ripened  into 
friendship.  The  years  went  on.  The  boy  came  from 
Williams  to  Hiram  to  be  installed  as  president  of  the 
institution  in  which  the  farmer's  daughter  was  an 


92  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

honored  teacher.  They  both  had  struggled  with  ad 
verse  circumstances,  —  both  had  conquered. 

Through  the  years  they  had  corresponded — the 
woman  sustaining  him  by  her  cheerful  words,  her 
sympathy  and  prayers  —  friendship  ripened  into  ten 
der  affection.  They  had  helped  each  other  on  ;  they 
would  be  helpmeets  for  life,  and  were  joined  in 
wedlock. 

Their  struggles  had  been  so  great,  their  friendship 
so  helpful,  their  love  so  tender,  their  lives  so  beautiful, 
that  a  friend,  knowing  the  facts,  made  them  the  thread 
of  a  story  which  attained  great  popularity  in  northern 
Ohio. 


HEART  AND   SOUL  FOR  -LIBERTY. 


93 


IX. 

HEART  AND  SOUL  FOR  LIBERTY. 

I  HAVE  already  said  that  at  the  time  of  Garfield's 
birth,  the  subject  of  slavery  was  beginning  to  oc 
cupy  public  attention.  The  week  before  he  was  born, 
—  on  November  13,  1831,  —  fifteen  persons  met  at  the 
office  of  Samuel  E.  Sewell,  a  young  lawyer  in  Boston, 
to  see  if  anything  could  be  done  toward  arousing  the 
attention  of  the  public  to  the  aggressions  of  slavery. 
They  decided  that  if  twelve  persons  could  be  found 
who  would  agree  that  slavery  ought  to  be  instantly 
abolished,  an  anti-slavery  society  should  be  formed,  but 
upon  an  expression  of  opinion,  only  nine  were  ready 
to  adopt  that  basis  of  action. 

A  week  later,  on  December  16,  another  conference 
was  held  at  Mr.  Sewell's  office.  Other  persons  had 
been  found  who  were  ready  to  act  on  that  basis.  A 
committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  preamble  and 
constitution,  and  on  June  6,  1832,  when  James  A. 
Garfield  was  seven  weeks  old,  the  New  England  Anti- 
Slavery  Society  was  organized.  Its  first  public  meeting 
was  held  in  Essex  Street  Church,  Boston,  January  29. 
In  an  address  issued  at  that  time,  it  was  declared  that 


94  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

the  whole  American  people  ought  to  be  an  anti-slavery 
society  ;  that  the  spirit  of  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  spirit  and  letter 
of -the  Constitution,  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ, 
imperiously  demanded  the  immediate  emancipation  of 
the  slave. 

The  organization  of  this  society  elicited  responses 
from  many  sections  of  the  North,  especially  from  mem 
bers  of  churches,  who  regarded  it  as  a  religious  rather 
than  a  political  work,  which  they  had  in  hand.  An 
anti-slavery  society  was  formed  in  New  York,  and  the 
"Emancipator"  established,  to  aid  the  Liberator  in 
arousing  attention. 

The  appearance  of  the  Emancipator  created  a  pro 
found  sensation  in  New  York,  arousing  resentment  and 
hostility.  Those  who  were  engaged  in  the  enterprise 
were  denounced  as  fanatics,  and  much  vile  abuse 
was  heaped  upon  them.  There  was  great  prejudice 
throughout  the  North  to  color.  A  negro  was  regarded 
as  of  another  race  —  hardly  human.  The  Abolitionists 
from  the  outset  planted  themselves  on  solid  ground  — 
that  he  was  a  man  ;  that  he  had  inalienable  rights. 

Then  came  the  period  of  riots,  the  disturbance  of 
anti-slavery  meetings  by  mobs,  the  breaking  up  of 
schools  in  which  education  was  given  to  colored  pupils, 
the  imprisoning  of  Miss  Prudence  Crandall,  of  Canter 
bury,  Connecticut,  for  teaching  colored  girls,  the  seiz 
ure  of  ministers  by  sheriffs  while  praying  for  the  abo 
lition  of  slavery,  the  mobbing  of  Garrison  in  Boston, 
the  burning  of  Pennsylvania  Hall  in  Philadelphia,  the 
shooting  of  Rev.  E.  P.  Lovejoy  at  Alton,  in  Illinois,  and 


HEART  AND   SOUL   FOR  LIBERTY.  g$ 

other  high-handed  deeds  by  the  enemies  of  the  Aboli 
tionists. 

The  spirit  of  slavery  had  permeated  the  nation.  The 
churches  of  all  denominations  were  pro-slavery  and  in 
tensely  prejudiced  against  the  colored  race.  In  the 
writer's  native  town  a  colored  family  moved  into  an 
unoccupied  house.  The  parents  sent  their  children  to 
the  district  school.  On  the  following  Sunday  evening, 
after  a  conference  and  prayer-meeting  for  the  conver 
sion  of  the  world,  the  legal  voters  of  the  school  dis 
trict  were  asked  to  tarry  a  moment.  The  case  was 
stated  by  the  minister,  that  the  colored  children  were 
attending  school.  A  vote  was  taken,  and  it  was  then 
and  there  decided  that  they  should  not  be  allowed 
the  privilege !  The  incident  illustrates  the  universal 
attitude  of  the  community  at  the  time. 

Northern  Ohio,  at  an  early  period  in  the  history  of 
the  anti-slavery  struggle,  took  its  stand  on  the  side  of 
liberty.  The  representative  in  Congress  from  the 
Ashtabula  district  was  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  elected  in 
1838,  —  an  uncompromising  opponent  of  slavery,  a 
clear,  logical  thinker,  of  tremendous  energy.  He 
was  bold  and  fearless,  a  man  well  calculated  to  arouse 
the  enthusiasm  of  any  liberty-loving  community. 

Like  President  Hopkins,  Joshua  R.  Giddings  has  left 
the  impress  of  his  great  personality  on  James  A.  Gar- 
field,  and  this  volume  would  be  incomplete  without  a 
presentation  of  the  circumstances. 

Mr.  Giddings  began  his  attacks  upon  slavery  from  a 
political  standpoint,  as  a  legislator,  in  a  speech  deliv 
ered  in  Congress,  February  9,  1841,  when  Garfield  was 


96  <?AMES  A.  GAR  FIELD. 

ten  years  of  age.  In  1838  the  House  of  Representatives 
had  passed  resolutions  prohibiting  debate  on  the  sub 
ject  of  slavery.  This  prohibition  created  much  feeling 
throughout  the  North. 

John  Quincy  Adams,  Mr.  Slade,  Mr.  Giddings,  and 
a  few  other  members  of  Congress  who  believed  that  in 
freedom  of  speech  lay  the  safety  of  the  country,  deeply 
felt  the  tyranny  of  that  prohibition.  Their  lips  were 
sealed.  But  Mr.  Giddings  was  not  born  to  be  a  slave. 
He  announced  to  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Slade,  in  private, 
that  he  was  going  to  speak  on  the  subject  of  slavery. 
But  how  ? 

He  found  a  way.  The  war  against  the  Seminole  In 
dians  in  Florida  had  been  carried  on  for  five  years  at  a 
great  cost  of  men  and  money.  Officers  and  soldiers 
sank  under  the  malaria.  It  was  well  known  that  the 
war  had  its  origin  in  the  attempt  of  slaveholders  to 
catch  slaves  who  had  run  away  from  their  masters  and 
joined  the  Indians. 

The  Seminoles  had  been  conquered.  Their  chief, 
Osceola,  relying  upon  the  good  faith  of  the  United 
States  officers,  had  come  in  from  the  everglades  for  a 
conference,  and  had  been  treacherously  seized.  It  was 
a  violation  of  good  faith,  mean  and  dastardly.  The 
blood  rushes  to  our  face  even  now  as  we  think  of  it. 
The  chiefs  heart  was  broken  ;  his  people  were  humil 
iated,  and  surrendered.  The  question  came  as  to  what 
should  be  done  with  them.  A  bill  had  been  intro 
duced  appropriating  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  for 
their  removal  west  of  the  Mississippi.  It  was  upon 
this  bill  that  Mr.  Giddings  made  his  first  assault.  He 


HEART  AND   SOUL  FOR  LIBERTT. 


97 


first  spoke  of  the  erroneous  impression  of  the  public 
in  regard  to  the  value  of  the  lands  occupied  by  the 
Seminoles  in  Florida,  and  quoted  General  Jessup,  who 
said  that  the  lands  would  not  pay  for  the  medicine  used 
by  the  troops  while  employed  against  the  Indians.  He 
was  correct.  Forty  years  have  passed  since  then  and 
the  lands  to-day  are  without  value.  Gradually  he  ap 
proached  the  subject  of  slavery. 

"  I  hold,"  he  said,  "  that  if  the  slaves  of  Georgia  or 
of  any  other  State  leave  their  masters  to  go  among  the 
Indians,  the  Federal  government  has  no  right,  no  con 
stitutional  power,  to  employ  the  army  for  their  recap 
ture,  or  to  expend  the  national  treasure  to  purchase 
them  from  the  Indians.  It  is  a  matter  solely  between 
the  masters  and  slaves." 

"  I  call  the  gentleman  to  order  for  irrelevancy," 
shouted  Warren  of  Georgia. 

The  Speaker  said  that  Mr.  Giddings  was  in  order. 

Mr.  Giddings  went  on  :  "  This  interposition  of  the 
Federal  power  to  sustain  slavery  is  unwarranted  by  the 
Constitution,  The  war  therefore  is  unconstitutional, 
unjust,  and  an  outrage  upon  the  rights  of  the  people 
of  the  free  States." 

He  was  called  to  order  again,  but  went  on  delivering 
a  speech  which  created  a  great  commotion  north  and 
south.  It  was  read  by  the  firesides  of  Ohio,  espe 
cially  throughout  Mr.  Giddings'  district,  arousing  the 
people  to  the  aggression  of  the  South.  After  this  be 
ginning  Mr.  Giddings  lost  no  opportunity  to  cssail 
slavery,  becoming  more  bold  and  aggressive.  In  his 
speech  delivered  in  1844,  he  said: 
7 


98  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

"  Out  motto  is,  Hands  off !  We  will  not  be  contami 
nated  by  slavery.  We  will  purify  ourselves  from  its 
corruptions,  its  crimes,  and  leave  it  where  the  Consti 
tution  left  it,  —  confined  strictly  to  the  States  where  it 
exists." 

"  I  wish  to  put  a  question  to  the  gentleman,"  said 
Mr.  Raynor  of  South  Carolina. 

"  Certainly." 

"  Does  the  gentleman  from  Ohio  believe  the  deca 
logue  to  be  of  Divine  origin  ?  " 

"  I  do  ;  but  I  would  not  if  it  sanctioned  slavery." 

"  The  tenth  commandment  says,"  responded  Raynor, 
"'Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's  man-servant, 
nor  his  maid-servant. '  What  does  the  gentleman  un 
derstand  by  that  ? " 

"  I  have  servants  at  home  — hired  servants,  not  slaves. 
I  hope  the  gentleman  does  not  covet  them.  God  forbid 
that  I  should  covet  his  slaves  ! " 

Mr.  Giddings'  speeches  on  the  celebrated  Amistad 
case,  on  the  annexation  of  Texas  in  1845,  on  tne  occu 
pation  of  Oregon  in  1846,  on  the  Wilmot  proviso  in 
1847,  were  read  everywhere.  The  people  of  his  dis 
trict  were  alive  to  the  great  question.  The  Ashtabula 
district  was  regarded  as  the  hottest  of  all  abolition  hot 
beds.  In  such  an  atmosphere  Mr.  Garfield  grew  to 
manhood  and  became  a  voter. 

In  1852,  when  he  cast  his  first  vote,  the  country  was 
agitated  as  never  before  on  the  passage  of  the  fugitive 
slave  law.  It  was  such  sentences  as  the  following  from 
the  lips  of  Giddings  that  enlisted  Garfield's  heart  and 
soul  for  liberty :  — 


HEART  AND  SOUL   FOR   LIBERT T. 


99 


"  Mr.  Chairman,"  said  Mr.  Giddings,  "  for  sixty  years 
this  construction  of  the  Constitution  has  been  acknowl 
edged  and  observed.  During  that  period  no  statesman 
advanced  the  revolting  doctrine  of  subjecting  the  labor 
ing  men  of  the  North  to  the  disgrace  of  catching 
slaves.  The  history  of  our  government  shows  this 
fact,  and  coming  ages  .will  read  it.  This  law,  which 
takes  from  the  laboring  men  of  the  North  a  portion  of 
their  earnings  to  pay  for  catching  and  returning  fugi 
tive  slaves,  is  a  thousand  times  more  repugnant  to  their 
feelings  than  was  the  Stamp  Act,  or  the  tax  on  tea. 
Under  this  law  they  are  involved  in  supporting  an  in 
stitution  which  they  detest ;  compelled  to  contribute  to 
the  commission  of  crimes  abhorrent  to  humanity.  This 
oppression,  this  violation  of  conscience  and  of  their  con 
stitutional  rights,  this  tyranny  they  feel  and  deprecate. 
It  is  impossible  that  an  intelligent,  a  patriotic  people 
can  long  be  subjected  to  such  violations  of  their  rights 
and  the  rights  of  humanity. 

"  The  conscience  of  the  nation  cannot  be  long  sep 
arated  from  its  government.  It  will  be  in  vain  for  navy- 
yard  chaplains  to  deliver  lectures  and  write  essays  to 
convince  our  people  that  it  is  their  duty  to  uphold  the 
slave-trade  and  the  fugitive  slave  law.  It  will  be  in  vain 
for  *  ministers  of  the  lower  law'  to  preach  up  the  duty 
of  Christians  to  commit  crimes  against  God  and  hu 
manity,  at  the  contemplation  of  which  our  very  natures 
revolt.  The  voice  of  reason  and  of  conscience  will 
find  utterance.  The  escape  of  Shadrach  at  Boston, 
the  just  and  holy  manifestation  of  the  popular  mind  at 
Syracuse,  the  merited  death  of  Garsuch  at  Christiana, 


IOO  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

should  teach  the  advocates  of  the  fugitive  slave  law,  and 
of  the  compromise,  that  the  '  higher  law  '  of  our  natures, 
dictated  by  God  and  imprinted  upon  the  hearts  of  a 
Christian  people,  will  eventually  set  these  barbarous 
enactments  at  defiance.  The  shooting  of  slaves  in  the 
mountains  of  Pennsylvania,  the  inhuman  murder  of  a 
fugitive  in  Indiana,  as  stated  in  the  public  papers,  could 
not  fail  to  be  followed  by  the  resistance  to  which  I  have 
referred. 

"The  slaves,  as  already  stated,  are  to  increase  ;  the 
number  of  fugitives  will  of  course  increase  more  rap 
idly.  Our  railroads,  steamboats,  and  the  vast  increase 
of  intercommunication  between  our  free  and  slave 
States  cannot  fail  to  carry  knowledge  and  intelligence 
to  the  whole  colored  population,  north  and  south. 
With  them  there  must  be  hostility  and  hatred  toward 
their  oppressors,  whether  they  be  slaveholders  or  the 
allies  of  slavery.  It  is  a  law  of  the  human  mind.  All 
honest  men  must  unite  in  the  acknowledgment  of  their 
rights.  It  is  our  duty  to  carry  intelligence  to  every 
being  who  bears  the  image  of  our  Creator.  Thousands 
of  agencies  are  at  work  bearing  information  to  the  op 
pressed  and  down-trodden  of  our  land. 

"  By  an  inscrutable  law  which  pervades  the  moral 
world,  our  very  efforts  to  sustain  slavery  are  converted 
into  the  means  of  its  overthrow.  The  slave-trade  in 
this  district  is  upheld  for  the  purpose  of  sustaining  slav 
ery  in  our  Southern  States.  But  where  is  the  reflect 
ing  man  who  does  not  see  that  every  slave  sold  from 
this  city  carries  with  him  intelligence  of  his  rights,  and 
becomes  a  missionary  of  freedom  when  transferred 


HEART  AND   SOUL   FOR  LIBERTY.  IOI 

south  ?  Why,  sir,  in  that  mournful  procession  of  fifty- 
two  victims  of  this  infamous  commerce,  taken  from  this 
city  in  1848,  was  an  individual  of  unusual  intellect. 
His  name  was  Edmonson.  He  called  on  me  at  differ 
ent  times  to  aid  him  in  raising  money  to  redeem  his 
sisters.  They  were,  however,  sold,  and  subsequently 
repurchased  by  some  benevolent  people  at  the  East, 
and  are  now  free.  I  am  told  that  his  whole  family 
were  endowed  with  intellects  of  the  highest  order. 
He  was  himself,  so  far  as  propriety  of  language,  gen 
tlemanly  deportment,  and  intelligence  are  concerned, 
not  the  inferior  of  gentlemen  here,  or  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States.  But  he  was  a  victim  to  this  slave- 
trade  ;  and  unless  he  now  sleeps  in  a  servile  grave,  he 
is  preparing  the  minds  of  Southern  slaves  for  that  work 
which  lies  before  them,  — a  work  which,  if  not  accom 
plished  by  the  voice  of  truth  and  justice,  will  be  per 
fected  in  blood.  That,  too,  is  the  case  with  every  fu 
gitive  slave  who  is  returned  to  bondage.  The  whole 
northern  slave  population  are  becoming  intelligent. 
They  read  or  hear  read  the  discussions  of  our  northern 
press.  They  learn  what  is  said  in  this  hall.  The  re 
marks  I  am  now  making  will  reach  the  ears  of  many 
thousands  who  are  borne  down  by  oppression.  To 
them  I  say,  '  All  men  are  created  equal.'  '  You  are 
endowed  by  your  Creator  with  an  inalienable  right  to 
liberty ; '  and  I  add  the  words  of  one  of  Virginia's 
noblest  sons,  '  Give  me  liberty  or  give  me  death? 

"  Mr.  Chairman :    the    day    of    redemption  for  this 
people  must  come.      No  human  power  can  prevent  it. 


I02  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

All  reason,  philosophy,  and  history  demonstrate  the 
approach  of  that  day." 

Mr.  Garfield  sat  at  the  feet  of  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  as 
Paul  at  the  feet  of  the  great  expounder  of  Jewish  law. 
From  the  time  he  was  a  voter  he  took  part  in  the  great 
political  questions  of  the  hour,  speaking  with  great 
effect  during  the  campaign  of  1856.  He  was  in  con 
stant  demand.  The  issues  involved,  the  high  stand 
taken  by  the  newly-formed  Republican  party,  aroused 
all  his  enthusiasm.  A  gentleman  who  was  a  pupil  at 
Hiram  at  the  time  says  of  that  campaign  : 

"  He  would  attend  to  his  duties  at  the  Institute 
through  the  day,  jump  into  a  buggy  at  night,  taking  me 
or  some  other  student  to  keep  him  company,  put  his 
arm  around  me,  talk  all  the  way  to  the  place  where  the 
meeting  was  to  be  held,  be  it  ten  or  twenty  miles.  It 
would  not  be  a  conversation  on  politics,  but  on  history, 
general  literature,  or  some  great  principle.  He  was 
always  welcomed  upon  the  platform,  and  after  speaking 
would  return,  taking  up  the  theme  we  had  dropped, 
getting  home  in  the  small  hours  of  the  morning. 

"At  nine  o'clock  the  next  day  he  would  be  in  the 
school  as  fresh  as  ever.  When  Sunday  came  he  would 
have  a  sermon  as  fresh  and  vigorous  as  if  it  had  been 
the 'study  of  the  week.  All  the  while  he  was  carrying 
on  the  study  of  law  and  attending  to  the  duties  incum 
bent  on  him  as  the  president  of  the  Institute,  keeping 
up  a  course  of  general  reading,  and  his  acquaintance 
with  the  classics." 

By  such  speeches,  made  by  one  whom  he  reverenced, 
Mr.  Garfield  came  to  have  a  profound  conviction  of  the 


HEART  AND   SOUL   FOR  LIBERTY. 


103 


rights  of  man  and  of  the'  domain  of  law.  Joshua  R. 
Giddings  had  been  his  instructor  in  regard  to  human 
rights,  while  President  Hopkins  had  led  him  with  rev 
erent  steps  to  a  comprehension  of  the  majesty  of  law. 
His  studies  were  in  the  direct  line  of  preparation  for 
the  stormy  future,  —  the  discussion  of  questions  involv 
ing  the  welfare  of  the  Repuc/lic,  the  rights  of  States,  the 
power  of  the  nation,  the  scope  of  the  Constitution. 


104  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 


X. 

BEGINNING   PUBLIC   LIFE. 

THE  people  of  the  Western  Reserve  were  getting 
acquainted  with  the  young  teacher  of  the  Eclectic 
Institute.  Their,  sons  and  daughters  who  were  under 
his  instruction  came  home  at  vacations  to  speak  their 
enthusiastic  praise  of  him. 

The  people  of  Hiram  were  well  acquainted  with  him 
as  teacher  and  citizen.  Those  of  the  surrounding 
towns  always  attended  a  political  meeting  when  he  was 
announced  as  a  speaker. 

The  time  had  come  for  him  to  enter  upon  a  new 
course.  He  did  not  set  himself  to  work  to  bring  it 
about ;  it  came  in  the  natural  sequence  of  things. 

By  the  year  1859  his  strength  of  mind  and  character, 
and  his  ability  as  an  orator,  were  so  well  known,  that 
when  the  anti-slavery  people  of  Portage  and  Summit 
counties  looked  for  some  one  to  represent  them  and 
their  cause  in  the  State  senate,  it  seemed  a  very  nat 
ural  thing  that  they  should  select  him. 

Mr.  Garfield's  start  in  political  life  was  in  this  way  : 
Some  of  his  friends  asked  him  to  let  them  use  his  name 
as  a  candidate  for  nomination  for  State  senator  from 
this  district.  Mr.  Williams,  finding  he  had  consented, 


BEGINNING   PUBLIC  LIFE. 


105 


canvassed  every  township  in  Portage  County  in  his  in 
terest.  Under  the  rule  governing  the  nomination, 
Portage  County  was  entitled  to  the  nominee,  and  was 
allowed  to  select  in  caucus  —  Summit  simply  uniting 
in  confirming  the  nomination  afterward.  The  con 
vention  met.  Portage  had  three  candidates. 

Mr.  Williams  was  made  vice-president  of  the  con 
vention.  By  virtue  of  this  office  he  was  chairman  of 
the  Portage  caucus.  A  few  ballots  were  taken  without 
a  nomination.  The  manager  of  Garfield's  leading  rival, 
discovering  that  it  was  dangerous  to  risk  his  man  fur 
ther  in  the  caucus,  called  on  his  supporters  to  leave 
the  room,  and  report  to  the  convention  that  the  caucus 
could  not  agree.  Mr.  Williams  called  out  that  they 
could  leave  or  remain  as  they  chose  ;  the  caucus  would 
agree  all  the  same,  and  that  soon.  They  remained, 
and  Garfield  was  soon  chosen.  They  repaired  to  the 
convention-room,  and  Mr.  Williams  proudly  announced 
the  name  of  James  A.  Garfield,  who  was  at  once  de 
clared  the  nominee. 

A  former  Ravennian,  seeing  his  youthful  appearance, 
inquired  of  Mr.  Williams,  if  he  was  sure  he  had  not 
made  a  mistake  ? 

Mr.  Williams  asked  him  to  wait  a  minute  and  see. 

Mr.  Garfield  was  called  out  for  a  speech  of  accept 
ance  ;  and  before  he  had  finished,  the  man  of  appre 
hensions  turned,  and  said  "  he  was  satisfied." 

lie  was  elected  by  a  large  majority  ;  and  the  earnest 
speeches  which  he  made  during  the  canvass  added  to 
his  reputation  and  popularity.  He  immediately  took 
high  rank  in  the  legislature  as  a  well-informed  speaker 


I05  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

and  an  effective  debater ;  and  he  was  one  of  a  radical 
group  of  three  in  the  senate  who  did  much  to  place 
Ohio  well  in  line  for  the  war. 

I  have  spoken  in  another  place  of  the  character  of 
the  men  who  settled  in  north-eastern  Ohio  ;  and  it  is 
worth  one's  while,  just  here,  to  notice  how  the  influ 
ence  of  those  men  was  felt  in  the  war  for  the  preserva 
tion  of  the  Union.  They  had  finished  their  life-work 
and  had  gone  on  to  the  better  life  ;  it  is  of  their  in 
fluence  through  their  sons  to  which  I  refer. 

The  three  leading  Republican  senators  in  the  Ohio 
legislature  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  were  James  A. 
Garfield,  J.  D.  Cox,  and  Professor  Monroe,  of  Oberlin 
College,  —  all  born  in  the  Western  Reserve. 

They  acted  in  concert.  They  were  animated  by  the 
same  ideas.  All  these  were  ardent  lovers  of  Liberty  ; 
all  possessed  of  intense  convictions  ;  all  had  sat  at  the 
feet  of  Joshua  R.  Giddings. 

Oberlin  College,  of  which  Mr.  Monroe  was  professor, 
was  founded  on  Anti-Slavery.  It  was  founded  as  a 
protest  to  the  pro-slavery  spirit  in  the  churches.  The 
underground  railroad  ran  through  it.  The  whole  spirit 
of  the  institution  was  in  the  greatest  antagonism  to 
slavery,  and  Professor  Monroe  was  sent  to  the  State 
senate  as  the  exponent  of  that  principle. 

Senator  Cox  was  a  lawyer  with  a  large  practice  ; 
son-in-law  to  one  of  the  Oberlin  professors.  He  was 
a  man  of  force  and  character,  uncompromising  in  his 
hostility  to  slavery,  and  an  ardent  patriot. 

James  A.  Garfield  —  we  have  clearly  obtained  an 
insight  into  his  character  —  was  the  youngest  of  the 


BEGINNING  PUBLIC  LIFE. 

three,  but  he  had  no  superiors  in  debate.  Not  a  mem 
ber  in  that  body  was  taking  longer  looks  ahead  than 
he  ;  not  one  was  more  radical  in  his  views  ;  yet  radical 
as  he  was,  his  plans  were  laid  with  wisdom.  He  never 
was  afraid  of  being  on  the  unpopular  side  in  obedience 
to  his  convictions. 

The  outbreak  of  the  war  brought  questions  affecting 
the  nation  before  the  legislature.  One  of  these  was 
the  "  Constitutional  Amendment,"  as  it  was  called ; 
an  amendment  proposed  by  Congress,  by  which  Con 
gress  was  to  be  prohibited  from  ever  legislating  upon 
slavery  in  the  States.  It  was  one  of  the  "peace" 
measures  brought  forward  to  placate  the  Secessionists, 
its  authors  and  friends  not  seeing  that  the  time  had 
come  in  the  world's  history,  and  in  the  progress  of 
civilization,  when  slavery  could  only  be  got  rid  of  by 
the  sword. 

It  was  brought  forward  for  ratification  in  the  spring 
of  1 86 1,  when  the  Southern  States  were  trembling  like 
a  jow  of  bricks,  one  after  another  out  of  the  Union, 
and  joining  in  a  confederacy. 

Of  what  use  to  try  to  conciliate  the  seceding  States 
by  any  such  means  ?  The  idea  was  preposterous. 
Why  throw  a  peppermint  to  a  spoiled  child,  who  was 
determined,  come  what  would,  to  have  its  own  way  ? 

'  The  events  now  transpiring  make  it  clear  that 
there  is  no  time  for  any  such  amendment,"  said  Gar- 
field,  and  with  six  others  recorded  his  vote  in  the  neg 
ative. 

He  had  detested  Horace  Greeley's  doctrine,  "  Way- 
ward  sisters,  go  in  peace."  He  believed  in  coercion. 


I08  JAMES  A.  GAR  FIELD. 

This  country  was  a  nation.  Secession  meant  war  ;  and 
the  nation  must  maintain  its  integrity. 

"  Would  you  give  up  the  forts  and  other  government 
property,  or  would  you  fight  to  maintain  your  right  to 
them  ? "  was  his  way  of  putting  the  question  to  timid 
men. 

He  took  the  lead  in  revising  the  Statutes  in  regard 
to  treason,  and  in  adapting  them  to  the  emergencies  of 
the  hour. 

The  State  of  Ohio  must  have  money  ;  and  a  bill  was 
brought  forward  known  as  the  "  Million  War  Bill." 

A  Democratic' senator,  Judge  Key,  of  Cincinnati, 
afterward  a  well-known  member  of  General  McClel- 
lan's  staff,  whose  heart  never  was  in  war,  opposed  the 
bill. 

Garfield  replied  to  him.  He  regretted  that  the  hon 
orable  senator  should  have  turned  from  honoring  his 
country,  to  pay  his  highest  tribute  of  praise,  at  a  time 
like  this,  to  party.  The  senator  approved  a  defense  of 
national  property,  but  denounced  any  effort  to  retake 
it,  if  only  it  were  once  captured.  Did  he  mean  that  if 
Washington  were  taken  possession  of  by  the  Rebels, 
he  would  oppose  attempts  to  regain  possession  of  the 
national  capital  ?  Where  was  this  doctrine  of  non- 
resistance  to  stop  ?  He  had  hoped  that  the  senator 
would  not,  in  this  hour  of  the  nation's  peril,  open  tl.e 
books  of  party  to  re-read  records  that  ought,  now  ;it 
least,  to  be  forgotten.  But  since  the  senator  had 
thought  this  a  fitting  time  to  declare  his  distrust  of  the 
President  and  Cabinet,  and  particularly  of  Ohio's  hon 
ored  representative  in  that  Cabinet,  he  had  only  to 


BEGINNING   PUBLIC  LIFE.  IOCj 

say  in  reply,  that  it  would  be  well  for  that  senator,  amid 
his  partisan  recollections,  to  remember  whose  Cabinet 
it  was  that  had  embraced  traitors  among  its  most  dis 
tinguished  members,  and  sent  them  forth  from  its  most 
secret  sessions  to  betray  their  knowledge  to  their 
country's  ruin ! " 


HO  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 


XI. 
BREAKING    OUT   OF   THE   WAR. 

WHEN  Fort  Sumterwas  fired  upon  in  April,  1861, 
the  legislature  of  Ohio  was  in  session.  The 
outbreak  of  civil  war  necessitated  much  legislation,  and 
Senator  Garfield  having  occupied  a  leading  position, 
was  called  upon  to  take  an  active  part  in  devising  and 
carrying  through  the  many  measures.  He  was  tireless 
in  his  activity,  and  was  in  frequent  consultation  with 
the  governor  in  regard  to  the  public  interests. 

When  the  session  was  over,  he  was  employed  by  the 
governor  to  obtain  arms  and  equipments,  and  in  fitting 
out  the  first  troops. 

Up  to  the  battle  of  Bull  Run  in  July,  the  people  of 
the  North  had  not  looked  far  enough  into  the  nature  of 
the  struggle  to  understand  that  it  was  to  be  of  gigantic 
proportions,  and  long  continued.  Mr.  Seward  had  pre 
dicted  that  the  war  would  be  over  in  ninety  days. 
Great  hopes  were  entertained  that  the  Union  element 
in  the  Southern  States  would  assert  itself.  Northern 
men  did  not  see  that  the  spirit  of  slavery  was  so  aggres 
sive,  tyrannical,  and  overbearing,  that  the  Unionists  in 
the  Southern  States  would  be  crushed  by  it.  Nor  did 
they  see  the  eternal  antagonism  between  the  two  sys- 


BREAKING    OUT   OF   THE    WAR.  IIX 

terns  of  civilization  that  had  taken  root  on  .this  conti 
nent,  —  one  planted  on  the  fertile  banks  of  the  James, 
the  other  on  the  hard,  forbidding  soil  of  New  England. 

People  even  who  were  familiar  with  the  lessons  of 
history  failed  to  see  that  it  was  the  old  contest  of 
Naseby,  Edge  Hill,  and  Marston  Moor,  of  Bunker  Hill, 
Bennington,  and  Yorktown  ;  that  it  was  the  question 
of  individual  liberty  of  the  many  against  the  few. 

The  proclamation  issued  by  Abraham  Lincoln  after 
the  firing  upon  Fort  Sumter,  called  for  troops  to  main 
tain  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  and  to  preserve 
the  Union.  The  preservation  of  the  Union  was  the 
question  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the  soldiers,  who 
responded  to  the  call  during  the  months  of  April,  May, 
and  June,  1861.  But  behind  that  question  was  another 
of  vastly  greater  moment,  the  question  of  the  rights  of 
men. 

It  was  in  1578,  three  hundred  and  two  years  ago, 
that  George  Buchanan,  tutor  to  Mary,  Queen  of  Scot 
land,  and  to  her  son,  James  II.,  —  profound  thinker, 
philosopher,  and  poet,  —  published  a  pamphlet  entitled 
De  Jure  Regni  —  "  The  Right  to  Rule/'  in  which  he 
enunciated  a  new  doctrine,  never  before  promulgated 
by  any  human  being  —  that  superior  power  emanates 
from  the  people,  who  have  the  right  to  choose  their  own 
rulers,  and  manage  their  own  affairs  in  government ; 
that  this  right  is  based  on  the  equality  of  all  men  ;  that 
it  is  natural  and  inalienable. 

This  doctrine  was  in  direct  antagonism  to  the  idea 
which  had  prevailed  from  the  beginning  of  history  to 
that  hour,  —  that  kings  are  appointed  by  God  to 


II2  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

govern,  and  that  all  others  are  to  be  governed.     Louis 
XIV.,  of  France,  summed  up  the  whole  history  of  ab-" 
solute  personal  government  in  four  words  :  "  / am  the 
Stated 

The  doctrine  of  George  Buchanan  was  so  monstrous, 
that  the  Parliament  of  England  interdicted  the  pam 
phlet,  and  Prime  Minister  Clarendon  ordered  that  all 
copies  be  gathered  up  and  burned  by  the  hangman. 

Nevertheless,  the  seed  took  root.  It  was  a  mighty 
force  in  the  great  Puritan  uprising  which  swept  Charles 
I.  from  the  throne  to  the  executioner's  block.  It  was 
the  force  which  elevated  Cromwell  to  become  Lord- 
Protector  of  England. 

The  hangman  of  England,  at  the  order  of  Clarendon, 
could  burn  Buchanan's  pamphlet,  but  no  fire  ever  yet 
was  kindled  that  can  consume  an  eternal  Truth  !  That 
pamphlet  set  in  motion  lines  of  action  that  led  up  to 
Bunker  Hill,  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  establishment 
of  the  Republic. 

How  slow  the  growth  of  an  idea  !  Not  till  the  out 
break  of  the  Revolution  of  1775,  was  the  idea  of  the 
rigJits  of  the  people  formulated  as  the  basis  for  govern 
ment.  The  Revolutionary  fathers  had  arrived  at  an 
understanding  of  what  their  own  rights  were,  but  they 
did  not  recognize  men  of  another  race  and  color  as 
being  men.  Not  till  the  year  of  James  A.  Garfield's 
birth  was  that  idea  put  squarely  before  the  nation. 
The  North  scouted  it  at  the  outset.  It  required  thirty 
years  more  of  the  aggression  of  slavery  to  get  that^dea 


•     BREAKING    OUT   OF   THE    WAR.  ^3 

into  the  hearts  of  the  great  majority  of  the  people  of 
the  North.  The  South  utterly  ignored  it. 

"  African  slavery  is  the  corner-stone  of  confederacy," 
said  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  vice-president  of  the  Con 
federacy. 

Not  till  McDowell's  defeated  army  was  rushing  pell- 
mell  to  Washington  did  the  North  begin  to  compre 
hend  that  the'  war  was  to  be  a  life-and-death  struggle. 

James  A.  Garfield,  educated  and  trained  by  Joshua 
R.  Giddings,  saw  from  the  outset  what  the  issue  must 
be,  and  gave  himself  heart  and  soul  to  his  country. 

The  students  of  the  institute  at  Hiram  were  fired 
with  military  ardor.  They  had  laid  aside  base-ball  and 
quoits,  and  were  marching  and  countermarching  on  the 
campus,  going  through  the  fanciful  Zouave  drill,  then 
all  the  rage,  but  which  a  few  months  later  was  lost 
sight  of  in  the  stern  realities  of  war.  Some  of  them 
enlisted  at  the  outset,  but  most  of  them  remained  to 
the  close  of  the  summer  term.  Mr.  Garfield  had  been 
so  absorbed  in  his  legislative  duties,  and  in  fitting  out 
the  troops,  that  he  had  had  little  time  to  attend  to 
matters  at  Hiram.  He  never  thought  of  advancing 
his  own  personal  interests.  He  was  working  for  his 
country. 

On  the  2/th  of  July  Governor  Dennison  addressed 
Mr.  Garfield  as  follows  : 

"THE  STATE  OF  OHIO  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ) 
Columbus,  July  27th,   1861.      > 

"  DEAR  SIR  :  I  am  organizing  some  new  regiments. 
Can  you  take  a  lieutenant-colonelcy  ?     I  am  anxious 
vou  should  do  so.     Reply  by  telegraph. 
8 


H4  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

"  Cox  has  entered  Charleston  and  is  doing  nobly. 
I  have  sent  him  my  congratulations. 

"  Yours  truly, 

"  W.  DENNISON." 

This  letter,  which  reached  Hiram  during  a  two- 
weeks'  absence  of  Mr.  Garfield,  was  finally  received  by 
him  on  the  7th  of  August.  He  immediately  replied 
that  if  the  proffered  position  were  still  vacant,  and  the 
colonelcy  of  the  regiment  filled  by  a  graduate  of  West 
Point,  he  would  accept.  The  reply  was  favorable. 

On  the  1 5th,  Mr.  Garfield  reached  Columbus,  and 
on  the  following  morning  was  commissioned  as  lieu 
tenant-colonel.  He  was  immediately  assigned  to  duty 
at  Camp  Chase,  near  Columbus,  under  an  order  from 
Adjutant-General  Buckingham,  to  "  report  in  person 
to  Brigadier-General  Hill,  for  such  duty  as  he  may 
assign  to  you  in  connection  with  a  temporary  com 
mand  for  purposes  of  instruction  in  camp-duty  and 
discipline." 

With  his  arrival  at  Camp  Chase  on  the  i6th  of  Au 
gust,  the  military  career  of  the  future  major-general 
of  volunteers  may  be  said  to  have  fairly  commenced. 

Colonel  Garfield  returned  to  Hiram  a  few  days  later 
and  called  a  public  meeting  of  the  citizens.  It  was  va 
cation  ;  but  the  students  residing  at  Hiram  and  in  the 
adjoining  towns  came  to  meet  their  beloved  teacher. 
The  church  was  crowded.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Garfield 
addressed  the  audience  upon  the  momentous  issues  in 
volved.  No  report  of  his  speech  is  preserved ;  but  it 
was  so  powerful  and  convincing,  their  hearts  were  so 


»    BREAKING    OUT   OF   THE   WAR.  II5 

stirred,  that,  at  its  close,  sixty  of  the  students  enrolled 
their  names  as  soldiers  for  three  years,  or  during  the 
continuance  of  the  war.  Within  a  week  the  company 
was  full  and  on  its  way  to  Camp  Chase,  at  Columbus, 
the  great  central  rendezvous  of  the  Ohio  volunteers. 
The  company  was  numbered  A,  and  took  the  right  of 
the  line  in  the  regiment. 

After  a  few  weeks  of  general  service  at  Camp  Chase, 
he  was  detailed  on  recruiting  duty,  and  aided  in  raising 
six  of  the  ten  companies  which  formed  the  Forty- 
second  O.  V.  I.  No  colonel  having  yet  been  appointed 
on  the  $th  of  September,  he  was  commissioned  by 
the  governor  of  Ohio  as  colonel  of  the  42d  Reg 
iment.  He  established  a  school  of  instruction  for 
the  officers  of  the  regiment,  requiring  two  hours  oi 
recitation  and  examination  in  the  morning  of  each  day, 
and  continued  the  work  of  drilling,  arming,  and  equip 
ping  the  regiment,  during  the  months  of  October,  No 
vember,  and  the  first  half  of  December. 

On  Saturday,  December  I4th,  a  telegram  came  from 
General  D.  C.  Buell,  commanding  the  Department  of 
the  Ohio,  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  ordering  the  regiment  to 
proceed  with  all  possible  dispatch  to  Prestonburgh, 
Floyd  County,  Ky.  At  nine  o'clock  Sunday  morning, 
December  i$th,  the  regiment  left  Camp  Chase  for  the 
railroad  depot  at  Columbus,  and  before  three  o'clock 
p.  M.  that  day  was  on  the  way  to  Cincinnati,  where  it 
arrived  at  nine  in  the  evening.  There  Colonel  Garfield 
received  a  telegram  from  General  Buell,  directing  him 
to  send  the  regiment  by  steamer  to  Catletsburg,  Ky.r 


Hg  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

at  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Sandy,  and  to  report  in  person 
at  headquarters  at  Louisville. 

On  the  evening  of  the  i6th,  Colonel  Garfield  reached 
Louisville  and  sought  General  Buell  at  his  headquar 
ters.  He  found  a  cold,  silent,  austere  man,  who  asked 
a  few  questions,  revealed  nothing,  and  eyed  the  new 
comer  with  a  curious,  searching  expression,  as  though 
try-ing  to  look  into  the  untried  colonel,  and  divine 
whether  he  would  succeed  or  fail  in  an  undertaking. 
Taking  a  map,  General  Buell  pointed  out  the  position 
of  Humphrey  Marshall's  forces  in  East  Kentucky, 
marked  the  locations  at  which  the  Union  troops  in  that 
district  were  posted,  explained  the  nature  of  the  coun 
try  and  its  supplies,  and  then  dismissed  the  visitor 
with  the  remark  :  "  If  you  were  in  command  of  the 
sub-department  of  Eastern  Kentucky,  what  would  you 
do  ?  Come  here  at  nine  o'clock  to-morrow  morning 
and  tell  me." 

Colonel  Garfield  returned  to  his  hotel,  procured  a 
map  of  Kentucky,  the  last  census  report,  paper,  pen, 
and  ink,  and  sat  down  to  his  task.  He  studied  the 
roads,  resources,  and  population  of  every  county  in 
eastern  Kentucky.  At  daylight  he  was  still  at  work, 
but  at  nine  o'clock  he  was  at  General  Buell's  headquar 
ters  with  a  sketch  of  his  plans.  Buell  read  it  and  made 
it  the  basis  of  his  special  order  No.  35,  Army  of  the 
Ohio,  December  I7th,  1861,  by  which  the  i8th  Brigade, 
Army  of  the  Ohio,  was  organized,  consisting  of  the  42d 
O.  V.  I.,  Colonel  J.  A.  Garfield  commanding  brigade  ; 
4Oth  O.  V.  I.,  Colonel  J.  Cranor ;  I4th  Kentucky  V.  I., 
Colonel  L.  D.  F.  Moore ;  22d  Kentucky  V.  I.,  Colone) 


BREAKING    OUT   OF   THE    WAR.  117 

D.  W.  Lindsay  ;  a  squadron  of  Ohio  cavalry,  two  com 
panies  under  Major  McLaughlin,  and  three  squadrons 
(six  companies)  of  the  1st  Kentucky  Cavalry,  Lieuten 
ant-Colonel  Lechter  commanding.  The  following  au 
tograph  letter  of  instructions  was  issued  to  him  on  the 
evening  of  the  I7th  : 

"  HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  OHIO,  > 

Louisville,  Ky.,  Dec.  17,  1861.  3 

t(  SIR  :  The  brigade  organized  under  your  command 
is  intended  to  operate  against  the  Rebel  force  threaten 
ing,  and,  indeed,  actually  committing  depredations  in 
Kentucky,  through  the  valley  of  the  Big  Sandy.  The 
actual  force  of  the  enemy,  from  the  best  information  I 
can  gather,  does  not  probably  exceed  two  thousand,  or 
twenty-five  hundred,  though  rumors  place  it  as  high 
as  seven  thousand.  I  can  better  ascertain  the  true 
state  of  the  case  when  you  get  on  the  ground. 

"You  are  apprised  of  the  condition  of  the  troops 
under  your  command.  Go  first  to  Lexington  and 
Paris,  and  place  the  4Oth  Ohio  Regiment  in  such  a  po 
sition  as  will  best  give  a  moral  support  to  the  people 
in  the  counties  on  the  route  to  Prestonburgh  and 
Piketon,  and  oppose  any  further  advance  of  the 
enemy  on  the  route.  Then  proceed  with  the  least  pos 
sible  delay  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sandy,  and  move  with 
the  force  in  that  vicinity  up  that  river  and  drive  the 
enemy  back  or  cut  him  off.  Having  done  that,  Pike- 
ton  will  probably  be  in  the  best  position  for  you  tQ 
occupy  to  guard  against  future  incursions.  Artillery 
will  be  of  little,  if  any,  service  to  you  in  that  country. 


Ug  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

If  the  enemy  have  any  it  will  incumber  and  weaken 
rather  than  strengthen  them. 

."  Your  supplies  must  mainly  be  taken  up  the  river, 
and  it  ought  to  be  done  as  soon  as  possible,  while  navi 
gation  is  open.  Purchase  what  you  can  in  the  country 
through  which  you  operate.  Send  your  requisitions  to 
these  headquarters  for  funds  and  ordnance  stores,  and 
to  the  quartermasters  and  commissary  at  Cincinnati  for 
other  supplies. 

"  The  conversation  I  have  had  with  you  will  suggest 
more  details  than  can  be  given  here.    Report  frequently 
on  all  matters  concerning  your  command. 
"Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  D.  C.  BUELL, 
"  Brigadier-General  commanding? 

The  untried  soldier,  commander  of  a  brigade,  com 
mander  of  a  sub-department,  had  received  his  instruc 
tions  ;  his  next  business  was  to  execute  them.  The 
regiment  went  up  the  Ohio  on  steamers,  and  landed  at 
Catletsburg,  where  it  was  joined  by  its  commander. 


FIRST  CAMPAIGN. 


XII. 

FIRST    CAMPAIGN. 

THE  Big  Sandy  River  rises  in  the  Cumberland 
mountain  range,  runs  north,  and  empties  into 
the  Ohio.  The  main  branch  of  the  stream  forms 
the  boundary  between  West  Virginia  and  Kentucky. 
Twenty-five  miles  from  the  Ohio,  the  western  branch 
comes  in  which  has  its  rise  in  Pound  Gap,  due  north 
of  Abingdon,  the  largest  town  on  the  line  of  the  Ten 
nessee  and  Virginia  Railroad.  The  Confederate  author 
ities  had  sent  Humphrey  Marshall  with  several  thou 
sand  men  through  Pound  Gap  to  hold  eastern  Ken 
tucky,  procure  enlistments  for  the'  Confederate  service, 
and  threaten  southern  Ohio.  It  was  General  Garfield's 
mission  to  drive  Marshall  out  and  to  aid  the  Unionists. 
On  the  evening  of  the  i/th,  a  strong  detachment 
of  companies  A  and  F  was  detailed  for  a  recon- 
noissance  to  Louisa,  thirty  miles  up  the  Big  Sandy.  It 
was  first  intended  that  the  party  should  go  as  mounted 
infantry,  but  as  only  twenty-five  horses  could  be  pro 
cured,  that  number  of  men  were  mounted  and  started 
overland  under  command  of  Major  Pardee,  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  iSth.  The  remainder  of  the  detach 
ment,  numbering  one  hundred,  was  sent  to  make  the 


120  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

journey  by  water,  a  small  steamer  being  detailed  for 
that  purpose.  After  bumping  along  for  several  hours, 
running  aground  two  or  three  times  in  the  course  of  a 
mile,  the  crazy  craft  ran  hopelessly  into  the  mud, 
broke  her  rudder,  and  stuck  fast.  The  troops  on  board 
clambered  ashore,  shouldered  their  knapsacks,  and  set 
out  to  march  to  Louisa.  Eight  miles  of  tugging  and 
toiling  over  the  hills  consumed  the  rest  of  the  day, 
and  at  night  the  detachment  encamped  comfortably 
in  a  barn.  Early  next  morning  the  march  was  re 
sumed,  and  about  noon  the  party,  footsore  and  weary, 
reached  Louisa.  The  mounted  party  had  arrived  and 
taken  quiet  possession  of  the  town.  Here,  says  the 
historian  of  the  42d  Ohio,  "  was  their  first  experience 
of  the  decayed  and  sluggish  village  life  that  prevailed 
through  the  Southern  towns  during  the  war.  Louisa 
was  at  best  a  straggling,  unpainted  hamlet,  but  the  hos 
tilities  of  six  months  had  greatly  increased  its  thrift 
less,  untidy  aspect.  The  men  were  nearly  all  in  the 
army,  on  one  side  or  the  other  ;  the  court-house  had 
been  used  as  a  barrack  by  the  half  barbarous  volunteers 
of  the  mountain  region  ;  and  a  shabby  brick  tavern, 
with  its  kitchen  dismantled  and  its  windows  broken, 
still  struggled  against  extinction  as  a  public-house  by 
keeping  a  red-nosed  ex-hostler  and  a  jug  of  new  apple 
jack  behind  the  bar  ! ;' 

Early  in  the  war,  a"s  it  then  was,  Louisa  had  been 
occupied  and  reoccupied  by  Federals  and  Confeder 
ates,  until  its  women  no  longer  stared  at  the  passing 
soldier  as  an  object  of  interest,  but  charged  him  fifty 
cents  for  a  dried-peach  pie,  and  as  promptly  besought 


FIRST  CAMPAIGN.  I2 

the  commanding  officers  to  post  sentries  around  their 
potato  bins  and  hen-roosts. 

The  troops  took  possession  of  the  tavern,  and  a 
picket  was  posted  on  the  road  leading  up  the  river  to 
watch  for  Jenkins'  Cavalry,  a  small  Confederate  force 
that  had  been  prowling  in  the  vicinity.  During  the 
night  a  battalion  of  cavalry,  numbering  about  two  hun 
dred,  arrived  and  joined  the  command.  They  were 
Virginia  troops,  and  had  seen  several  months  of  service 
in  the  Kanawha  Valley. 

During  the  morning  following,  the  remaining  ten 
companies  of  the  42d  began  arriving  in  squads  from 
two  to  twenty.  The  men  were  footsore,  weary,  and 
hungry.  They  had  not  supposed  that  thirty  miles  of 
travel  could  involve  so  much  hard  work  and  deep  wad 
ing.  The  winter  rains  had  fully  set  in,  and  the  roads,  at 
the  best  hardly  more  than  bridle-paths,  were  at  their 
worst.  The  country  which  the  expedition  had  traversed 
was  a  succession  of  hills  and  valleys,  and  as  bridge-build 
ing  and  road-making  had  not  been  even  thought  of  in 
that  barbarous  region,  the  wagon-trains  of  Colonel  Gar- 
field's  command  had  only  to  follow  the  rude  paths  that 
wound  along  the  valleys,  and  at  intervals  of  a  few 
miles  crossed  some  rugged  hill  or  "  divide  "  into  a  new 
gorge.  Travel  over  such  roads  in  the  rainy  season 
involves  the  frequent  crossing  of  swollen  streams,  and 
the  march  of  the  42d  with  its  train  from  Catletsburg 
to  Louisa  was  little  better  than  a  wading  through  mud 
and  water. 

In  crossing  some  of  the  hills,  the  roads  were  found 
so  steep  and  uneven  that  men  were  detailed  to  walk 


122  JAAfES  A,    GAP  FIELD. 

beside  the  wagons  to  hold  them  from  capsizing.  Slowly 
as  the  main  body  of  the  regiment  had  marched,  it 
reached  Louisa  many  hours  in  advance  of  the  train. 
Early  in  the  march  it  had  become  necessary  to  relieve 
the  wagons  of  every  possible  pound  of  burden,  and  the 
road  was  strewn  with  debris  of  luxurious  mess-chests, 
which  the  men  had  hoped  to  keep  through  the  war. 
How  little  they  knew  what  war  was ! 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  any  regiment  was  sea 
soned  to  the  hard  work  and  discomfort  of  campaigning 
more  abruptly  than  the  42d.  In  five  days  they  had 
come  from  the  comfort  of  barrack  life  to  the  hardships 
of  a  winter  campaign  in  a  wilderness. 

As  the  remainder  of  the  regiment  continued  to  ar 
rive  at  Louisa,  preparations  were  made  for  a  temporary 
camp.  Companies  A,  F,  and  K  were  sent  to  camp 
out  on  the  hills,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  town, 
in  a  position  commanding  the  junction  of  two  roads 
leading  eastward  from  the  interior  of  Kentucky.  It 
was  here  the  first  formal  essay  was  made  in  the  high 
art  of  foraging.  The  boats  from  the  mouth  of  the 
river  had  been  detained  by  shoal  water.  The  rations 
brought  overland  in  the  wagon-train  had  grown  scant, 
and  the  soldiers,  convinced  that  the  Confederacy  owed 
them  a  living,  turned  upon  the  lean  poultry  and  spectral 
swine  of  the  mountaineers.  For  two  whole  days  and  • 
nights  —  the  2ist  and  22d  —  the  rain  fell  incessantly. 
Colonel  Garfield  had  arrived  meantime,  and  notwith 
standing  the  unfavorable  weather  the  work  of  organi 
zation  went  on.  On  the  night  of  the  22d  the  rain 
turned  to  snow,  and  the  morning  of  the  2jd  brought 


FIRST  CAMPAIGN. 


I23 


an  icy  wind  from  the  north,  which  froze  the  mud  in 
the  roads  and  made  the  hills  slippery  with  ice.  The 
night  had  been  so  cold  that  the  men  could  not  sleep, 
but  had  crawled  out  of  their  tents  and  sat  until  morn 
ing  huddled  around  their  fires. 

On  the  morning  of  the  23d,  marching  orders  were 
issued,  and  by  noon  the  regiment,  preceded  by  the 
cavalry,  was  on  the  way  to  Paintville,  a  small  town  on 
Paint  Creek,  a  mile  from  the  junction  of  the  latter 
with  the  Big  Sandy,  and  thirty-three  miles  from  Louisa. 
Paintville  was  at  that  time  the  advanced  post  of  Hum 
phrey  Marshall,  commanding  a  force  from  two  to  four 
thousand  Rebel  cavalry,  infantry,  and  artillery. 

Marshall  had  descended  the  valley  as  far  as  Paint 
ville,  and  had  commenced  permanent  fortifications  at 
that  point.  It  was  against  this  force  that  Garfield  had 
been  sent.  The  force  placed  at  his  command  for  this 
purpose  consisted  of  the  4Oth  and  42d  Ohio  Infantry, 
—  both  new  regiments,  —  the  remnant  of  the  I4th  Ken 
tucky,  a  wild,  half  organized  regiment,  which  had  been 
driven  before  Marshall  as  he  descended  the  valley,  and 
the  battalion  of  Virginia  cavalry  already  mentioned. 

This  command  was  designated  the  Eighteenth  Bri 
gade,  Army  of  the  Ohio.  The  advanced  and  exposed 
position  of  Marshall  offered  at  that  time  one  of  the 
few  opportunities  open  to  the  Union  army  to  strike  a 
direct  and  effective  blow ;  and  General  Buell,  who  had 
accomplished  little  or  nothing  since  taking  command 
of  the  Department,  attached  no  small  importance  to 
the  favorable  result  of  the  expedition  up  the  Big 
Sandy. 


124  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

It  was  important  that  the  Rebel  communication  be- 
tween  Virginia  and  Kentucky  should  be  cut  off,  and 
the  drain  of  men  and  supplies  from  the  latter  State 
stopped  ;  but  it  was  still  more  essential  that  somewhere 
along  the  line  from  Chesapeake  Bay  to  the  Mississippi 
a  Federal  force  should  win  a  victory  to  encourage 
enlistments  and  show  that  the  right  cause  could  some 
times  win. 

Just  at  the  moment  of  Marshall's  irruption  into 
eastern  Kentucky,  the  4Oth  and  42d  Ohio  regiments 
had  been  reported  to  General  Buell  for  assignment  to 
duty  ;  and  acting  upon  a  suggestion  of  Colonel  Hazen, 
of  the  41  st  Ohio,  Buell  made  the  two  regiments  the 
nucleus  of  the  brigade,  placed  Colonel  Garfield  in  com 
mand,  and  sent  the  untried  commander  with  his  untried 
men  to  conduct  an  independent  campaign. 

The  first  day's  march  accomplished  but  ten  miles, 
and  ended  after  nightfall  at  a  stone  house,  where,  amid 
the  dreary  discomfort  of  a  cold  winter  rain,  the  men 
encamped,  wet  and  hungry,  in  a  muddy  cornfield.  The 
road  over  which  the  march  had  been  made  was 
wretched  beyond  description,  one  stream  having  been 
forded  by  the  column  not  less  than  twenty-six  times 
within  a  distance  of  five  miles  !  The  wagons  were  left 
far  behind,  and  the  camp,  in  the  freezing  mud  of  the 
cornfield,  was  without  tents  or  provision. 

The  necessities  of  the  case  outweighed  all  scruples 
about  foraging,  and  the  poultry  and  pigs  of  the  neigh 
boring  farm  were  all  devoured.  Before  starting  the 
next  morning,  Colonel  Garfield  ordered  the  troops  into 
line  and  gave  them  a  brief  lecture  on  the  sin  of  con- 


FIRST  CAMPAIGN. 


125 


fiscation,  then  paid  the  disconsolate  farmer  for  his 
losses  out  of  his  own  pocket  ! 

On  the  2/tb,  a  soldier  of  Marshall's  command  was 
captured  a  few  miles  from  camp,  while  home  on  a  fur 
lough.  He  reported  Marshall's  headquarters  with  his 
main  force  at  Prestonburgh,  fifteen  miles  beyond  Paint- 
ville,  and  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river.  These  and 
other  reports  made  it  apparent  that  there  was  no  time 
to  be  lost.  If  the  enemy  were  retreating,  he  should  be 
promptly  followed  ;  if  he  were  fortifying,  it  was  im 
portant  to  strike  him  before  his  preparations  were  com 
plete. 

On  the  following  morning  a  small  squad  of  cavalry 
scouting  in  the  direction  of  Paintville  encountered  a 
detachment  of  the  enemy,  and  after  a  slight  skirmish 
retired  with  the  loss  of  three  troopers  and  a  citizen 
guide,  who  were  captured.  Part  of  the  squad  had  left 
their  horses  and  gone  into  a  house  for  breakfast.  The 
Rebels  came  suddenly  upon  them,  drove  off  those  wait 
ing  outside,  and  captured  those  in  the  house. 

The  news  of  this  little  affair  set  the  camp  in  com 
motion.  A  squadron  of  cavalry  was  sent  after  the  ma 
rauders,  but  returned  unsuccessful. 

Shortly  after  noon,  the  column,  crossing  a  hill,  de 
scended  into  a  valley  running  obliquely  toward  the  Big 
Sandy,  and  in  the  south-easterly  direction.  But  the 
teams  found  the  hills  impracticable,  and  after  marching 
three  miles  the  column  was  halted  and  detachments  were 
sent  back  to  help  the  wagons  out  of  their  difficulties. 
It  was  long  after  dark  before  this  was  even  partially 


126  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

accomplished,  and  the  command  bivouacked  barely 
three  miles  from  the  camp  of  the  previous  night. 

The  next  day  it  rained  incessantly,  and  the  regiments 
-  many  not  having  tents  —  spent  a  cheerless,  un 
comfortable  day.  Those  who  had  no  shelter  were 
chilled  and  soaked  to  the  skin. 

On  the  following  day,  Company  F  was  sent  for 
ward  as  an  advance  guard,  and  encountered  a  picket 
of  the  enemy  on  the  crest  of  a  hill  two  miles  from 
camp.  There  was  a  momentary  skirmish,  and  the 
Rebels  retired.  Company  A  was  sent  forward  to 
reinforce  the  advance.  The  two  companies  in  front 
spent  a  comfortable  night  in  a  barn.  The  next  morn 
ing,  Company  A  returned  to  camp,  and  the  day  was 
devoted  to  foraging  and  getting  forward  the  wagon- 
train.  Parties  of  the  enemy  were  hovering  round,  and 
several  skirmishes  occurred.  In  one  of  these  little 
encounters  a  detachment  of  the  I4th  Kentucky  killed 
one  Rebel  cavalry-man  and  captured  another.  The 
latter  was  brought  to  camp,  and  on. being  questioned, 
described  the  party  to  which  he  belonged  as  part  of  a 
reconnoitering  force  sent  out  by  Marshall  to  gain  some 
idea  of  the  strength  and  purpose  of  the  invaders.  He 
also  gave  an  account  of  Marshall's  strength,  and  rep 
resented  him  as  preparing  to  take  the  offensive. 

From  the  point  at  which  Colonel  Garfield's  column 
was  now  established,  three  roads  lead  to  Paintville. 
On  all  these  three  roads  the  enemy  had  posted  strong 
pickets,  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  town,  supported 
by  an  infantry  regiment  and  a  battery,  which  were  held 
in  reserve  in  the  village,  ready  to  move  to  the  support 


FIRST   CAMPAIGN.  I2; 

of  whichever  picket  should  be  threatened  in  force.  In 
those  days  of  amateur  generalship  it  had  not  occurred 
to  General  Marshall  that  his  enemy  might  turn  the 
uncertainty  of  the  Confederate  position  to  his  own  ad 
vantage. 

This,  however,  was  just  what  the  Ohio  colonel  did. 
By  dividing  his  cavalry,  moving  it  rapidly,  and  sup 
porting  it  with  small  detachments  of  infantry,  he  man 
aged  to  strike  the  three  pickets  one  after  the  other  in 
such  a  way  as  to  entirely  mask  his  own  intentions,  and 
give  Marshall  the  impression  that  a  large  force  was 
bearing  down  upon  him  from  three  directions.  The 
regiment  and  battery  were  frantically  hurried  from  one 
road  to  another,  as  the  point  of  attack  seemed  to  be 
changed,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  panic,  the  straggling 
troops  in  the  town  retreated  across  the  river.  The  pick 
ets  which  had  been  drawn  in  on  the  center  road  came 
in  pell-mell,  and  finding  the  town  deserted,  fled  in 
haste  across  Paint  Creek.  The  regiment  and  battery 
likewise  retreated  to  the  intrenched  position  three 
miles  south  of  the  town,  and  Colonel  Garfield's  forces 
occupied  Paintville  without  firing  a  shot. 

Having  learned  from  the  inhabitants  the  size  of  the 
Confederate  force  and  direction  of  the  retreat,  Colonel 
Garfield  determined  to  immediately  cross  Paint  Creek, 
and  continue  the  pursuit.  The  heavy  rains  of  the  pre 
vious  fortnight  had  filled  the  streams,  and  Paint  Creek, 
whose  waters  were  backed  up  by  a  mill-dam,  was  im 
passable.  Near  the  dam  stood  a  saw-mill,  and  around 
this  were  saw-logs.  To  roll  them  into  the  stream,  lash 
them  together,  and  lay  a  roadway  across,  was  the  work 


I2g  JAMES  A.  GAR  FIELD. 

of  an  hour,  and  by  five  in  the  afternoon  a  thousand 
picked  infantry  were  across  the  river,  and  heading 
southward  in  pursuit  of  whatever  enemy  had  been  oc 
cupying  Paintville.  A  mile  further  up  Paint  Creek,  at 
the  mouth  of  Jenny's  Creek,  was  a  ford  passable  for 
horses.  From  this  ford  a  road  led  southward,  parallel 
with  the  one  which  the  infantry  was  following  Colonel 
Garfield  was  marching  to  attack  a  large  earthwork, 
about  whose  size  and  strength  dire  stories  had  been 
told  by  prisoners  captured  from  Marshall's  command. 
It  was  said  to  include  acres  of  ground,  to  be  defended 
by  cannon. 

At  the  forks  of  a  small  creek  was  a  large,  straggling 
log-house,  which  had  been  used  as  headquarters  by  the 
commander  of  the  post.  From  the  women  in  this 
house  it  was  learned  that  the  garrison  and  working 
force  had  numbered  about  nine  hundred  men,  and  that 
they  had  decamped  less  than  an  hour  before.  The  for- 
tification  which  the  Rebels  had  abandoned  had  an  area 
of  two  acres,  crowning  a  hill  three  or  four  hundred  feet 
high,  between  the  two  branches  of  the  creek  already 
described.  The  parapet  was  heavily  reveted  with  logs 
and  hewn  timber,  and  traverses  for  several  guns  had 
been  finished.  The  excavation  was  nearly  complete, 
but  no  guns  were  in  position,  and  no  buildings  erected 
within  the  redoubt.  It  commanded  the  road  for  a  mile 
down  the  main  valley,  and  for  a  nearly  equal  distance 
up  the  left  fork  of  the  stream  which  came  down  from 
the  west  at  right  angles  with  its  subsequent  course. 

The  abandoned  huts  of  the  Rebel  soldiers  exhibited 
indication    of  sudden    and    precipitate   retreat.     Meat 


FIRST  CAMPAIGN. 


129 


and  bread  were  found  cooking  before  the  fire,  and 
everything  in  confusion.  It  was  learned  that  the  Rebels 
had  spies  watching  the  movements  of  the  Federals  in 
the  village,  and  when  the  column  had  begun  to  cross 
the  pontoon-bridge,  had  fled  to  the  fort,  giving  the 
alarm  which  had  resulted  m  a  hasty  stampede. 


JAMES  A,   GARFIELD. 


XIII. 

MIDDLE   CREEK. 

WAS  Marshall  intending  to  leave  the  country  with 
out  a  battle  ?  Colonel  Garfield  did  not  think 
so  ;  but  that  somewhere  amid  the  mountains,  Marshall 
would  select  a  strong  position  and  make  a  stand.  Every 
step  of  Garfield's  advance  would  increase  the  difficulty 
of  subsisting  his  troops,  while  Marshall  the  while  would 
be  nearer  his  base  of  supplies. 

Colonel  Garfield,  on  the  morning  of  the  Qth,  set  out 
with  fifteen  hundred  picked  men  in  pursuit  of  Mar 
shall's  retreating  force.  Two  days'  rations  were  taken 
in  haversacks,  and  further  supplies  were  ordered  to  be 
sent  up  in  boats  to  Prestonburgh.  The  remainder  of 
the  brigade  was  left  in  command  of  Colonel  Cranor, 
with  orders  to  follow  Colonel  Garfield's  column  as  soon 
as  sufficient  provisions  arrived  to  furnish  three  days' 
rations,  in  addition  to  those  already  sent  forward. 

The  advance  column  marched  all  day,  but  the  roads 
were  so  wretched  that  it  was  night  before  it  had 
reached  the  foot  of  a  high  hill,  north  of  the  mouth  of 
Abbott's  Creek,  three  miles  below  Prestonburgh,  and 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Big  Sandy.  Ascending  the  hill 
goon  after  dark,  Colonel  Garfield's  advance  encountered 


MIDDLE  CREEK.  13! 

at  the  summit  a  cavalry  picket,  which  fired  a  volley 
and  retreated.  Being  evidently  in  the  immediate  pres 
ence  of  a  large  force  of  the  enemy,  Colonel  Garfield 
brought  his  command  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  and,  with 
strong  guards  thrown  out  to  the  front  and  rear,  rested 
until  morning. 

It  was  a  bitter  January  night.  The  rain  which  had 
fallen  all  day  turned  to  sleet,  and  a  keen,  biting  gale 
from  the  north  whistled  through  the  mountain  pines, 
and  stiffened  the  wet  clothing  of  the  soldiers  with  ice. 
No  fire  could  be  permitted  in  such  a  situation,  and  the 
men  shivered  and  waited  through  the  long,  dreary  night 
as  best  they  could.  When  morning  dawned  they  found 
themselves  on  a  high  hill,  from  which  the  road  de 
scended  by  a  steep  zigzag  course  to  the  valley  of 
Abbott's  Creek. 

Immediately  after  encountering  the  cavalry  the  even 
ing  before,  Colonel  Garfield  had  sent  back  a  message 
directing  Colonel  Cranor  to  put  all  the  available  men 
at  Paintville  in  motion  at  once,  and  march  to  his  sup 
port.  The  order  reached  Cranor  before  daylight,  and 
within  an  hour  twelve  hundred  men,  made  up  from  all 
the  regiments  in  the  brigade,  were  on  the  march. 

The  advance  column  meanwhile  descended,  early  on 
the  morning  of  the  loth,  to  the  valley  of  Abbott's 
Creek,  and  found  that  the  enemy  had  retired  up  the 
stream  and  across  the  dividing  ridge  into  the  valley  of 
Middle  Creek,  which  comes  down  from  the  mountains, 
parallel  with  Abbott's  Creek,  and  flows  into  the  Big 
Sandy  about  a  mile  farther  up  than  the  mouth  of  the 
latter. 


JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

It  was  at  once  apparent  that  Colonel  Garfield  was  in 
the  immediate  presence  of  Marshall's  entire  force,  and 
that  the  latter  was  disposed  to  fight.  Marshall  was 
known  to  have  about  thirty-five  hundred  men  of  all 
arms  —  infantry,  cavalry,  and  artillery,  and  had  come 
into  the  Sandy  Valley  to  spend  the  winter,  and,  by 
occupying  the  country,  promote  enlistments  into  the 
Confederate  service.  This  purpose  he  could  not,  of 
course,  relinquish  without  a  fight,  and  he  chose  his 
ground  for  the  encounter  deliberately  and  well. 

Proceeding  cautiously  in  order  to  allow  the  reinforce 
ments  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Shelden  to  come  up, 
Colonel  Garfield  passed  up  the  valley  of  Abbott's  Creek, 
forded  the  stream,  crossed  the  ridge,  and  descended 
into  the  valley  of  Middle  Creek.  Here  he  found  Mar 
shall's  cavalry  drawn  up  in  line  across  the  valley,  but  a 
few  shots  from  the  advance  drove  them  back.  One 
cavalry-man  was  cut  off  from  the  main  body,  and  in 
attempting  to  swim  the  creek  was  captured,  the  first 
prisoner  of  war  taken  by  the  42d  Ohio  on  a  battlefield. 
A  heavy  line  of  skirmishers  was  thrown  across  the  val 
ley,  and  the  advance  began.  The  enemy's  cavalry 
made  a  formidable  show  in  the  broad  meadows,  but  • 
kept  at  a  discreet  distance.  Once  they  formed  behind 
a  small  spur  of  hill  that  ran  out  into  the  valley,  and 
from  behind  that  cover  charged  down  upon  the  ad 
vancing  column.  Throwing  his  troops  into  a  hollow 
square,  Colonel  Garfield  awaited  the  attack,  and  when 
the  cavalry  came  within  range,  sent  them  a  volley 
which  broke  and  turned  them  back.  The  skirmish- 
line,  under  command  of  Adjutant  Olds,  advanced 


MIDDLE   CREEK.  133 

again,  and  drove  the  cavalry  from  a  spur,  behind 
which  it  was  attempting  to  rally.  This  little  spur  of 
high  ground,  upon  which  stood  a  log  church,  sur 
rounded  by  a  few  graves,  was  then  occupied  by  the 
Federal  force  as  a  base  from  which  to  attack  or  to  de 
fend,  as  circumstances  might  require. 

Drawing  up  his  little  force  on  the  slope,  Colonel 
Garfield  saw  that  Marshall  had  come  to  a  stand. 
Across  the  valley  half  a  mile  distant  was  the  Confed 
erate  cavalry,  and  on  the  same  line  near  the  foot  of  the 
hills,  to  the  right  of  the  creek,  a  battery  was  in  position, 
which,  as  the  skirmishers  advanced,  opened  fire  and 
gave  the  line  a  momentary  check.  A  few  shells  were 
also  fired  at  the  main  force  on  Graveyard  Point,  but 
the  guns  were  badly  trained  and  the  shells  buried  them 
selves  harmlessly  in  the  mud.  The  enemy's  cavalry 
and  artillery  being  thus  accounted  for,  it  remained  for 
Colonel  Garfield  to  discover  the  location  of  his  infantry. 
On  the  south  side  of  the  creek  to  the  right  of  the  bat 
tery  rose  a  high  hill,  heavily  timbered  and  crowned  with 
a  ledge  of  rock.  Around  the  foot  of  the  hill  wound 
the  creek,  and  close  beside  this,  but  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  stream,  lay  the  roac^  It  was  at  once  con 
jectured  that  Marshall's  infantry  had  occupied  the  hill, 
and  that  the  Federal  column,  if  it  advanced  round  the 
curve,  would  be  caught  by  an  ambush  fire  from  the  oppo 
site  bank.  To  verify  this  theory,  Garfield  sent  his 
escort,  a  handful  of  Kentucky  cavalry,  to  charge  up  the 
road  and  draw  the  fire  of  the  main  body.  The  ruse 
was  boldly  performed  and  was  completely  successful. 
As  the  little  group  of  horsemen  galloped  up  the  creek 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

and  round  the  curve  in  the  road,  the  battery  opened, 
and  the  whole  infantry  force,  with  the  trepidation  of 
new  troops,  fired  at  long  range  and  completely  un 
masked  their  position.  They  occupied  the  wooded  hill 
from  its  base  half-way  to  its  summit.  It  was  now  time 
for  real  work. 

About  four  hundred  men  of  the  4Oth  and  42d  Ohio 
were  sent  to  ford  the  creek,  climb  the  mountain,  and 
attack  the  Rebel  position  in  front.  Major  Pardee,  of 
the  42d,  who  was  practically  in  command  of  the  fight 
ing  in  that  part  of  the  field,  threw  forward  as  skirmish 
ers  detachments  of  companies  A  and  F,  of  the  42d. 
Two  companies  of  the  I4th  Kentucky,  under  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonei  Monroe  of  that  regiment,  were  sent  to  cross 
the  creek  lower  down,  gain  a  narrow  ledge  or  crest  of  a 
ridge  that  ran  up  to  the  main  hill,  and  by  advancing  along 
the  ridge  attack  the  enemy  in  flank  and  save  the  little 
force  from  being  overpowered.  As  the  line  advanced  up 
the  hill  it  soon  encountered  heavy  opposition.  A  sharp 
fire  came  frdni  behind  the  trees,  logs,  and  rocks,  and 
the  Rebels  swarmed  down  the  hill,  shouting  and  firing. 
Half  the  remaining  reserve  on  Graveyard  Point  was 
sent  to  Pardee's  support,  and  thus  strengthened  he 
pushed  forward.  The  skirmishers  were  well  advanced. 
The  time  had  come  for  the  battle  to  begin. 

The  column  moved  at  the  word,  came  within  range, 
and  opened  fire.  They  were  in  the  valley,  the  enemy 
high  up  on  the  side  of  a  steep  hill,  sheltering  them 
selves  behind  the  trees,  firing  wildly. 

Troops  firing  down  hill,  unless  accustomed  to  accu 
rate  firing,  almost  always  overshoot  the  mark.  Israel 


MIDDLE   CREEK. 


137 


Putnam  and  John  Stark,  old  hunters,  understood  this 
at  Bunker  Hill,  and  issued  those  orders  famous  in  his- 
tory  :  "  Aim  at  their  waistbands,  boys  ; "  but  the  raw 
troops  under  Marshall  did  not  understand  it,  and  their 
bullets  did  great  execution  among  the  trees  over  the 
heads  of  Garfield's  men,  but  not  much  in  the  ranks. 
Marshall's  men  were  wholly  undisciplined,  and  fought 
without  unity  of  action.  On  the  other  hand,  the  five 
months'  drilling  at  Camp  Chase  had  brought  the  student 
regiment  to  considerable  discipline. 

The  Rebels  began  to  retire  before  the  steady  ad 
vance  of  Garfield,  but  Marshall  hurried  down  rein 
forcements.  The  Rebel  cannon  thundered  more  furi 
ously.  It  was  evident  that  Marshall,  taking  advantage 
of  his  superiority  in  numbers  and  position,  was 
preparing  to  charge  with  his  whole  force  down  the  hill 
and  overwhelm  the  Union  troops.  It  was  a  critical 
moment.  But  reinforcements  were  at  hand.  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Shelden,  who  had  been  ordered  from 
Paintville  the  night  before  with  twelve  hundred  men, 
had  been  making  a  forced  march.  They  had  come 
twenty  miles  since  daylight.  The  soldiers  had  heard 
the  roar  of  Marshall's  cannon  and  were  pressing  on. 

The  surgeon  of  the  42d  Ohio  had  descried  them  in 
the  distance.  Without  orders  from  Garfield  or  any 
one  else,  he  rode  down  the  valley  in  hot  haste.  "  For 
God's  sake,  hurry  up  !  "  he  shouted.  The  troop  gave  a 
cheer,  broke  into  a  run,  and  came  out  in  full  view  of 
the  Rebels,  who,  from  the  commotion  in  their  ranks, 
were  evidently  greatly  surprised  at  this  sudden  appear 
ance  of  Union  reinforcements. 


fAMES  A.  GAR  FIELD. 

The  uproar  of  the  battle  increased.  The  Rebels 
fired  rapidly  and  wildly.  Volley  after  volley  rolled  out 
from  the  Union  ranks.  The  Rebel  cannon  thundered, 
but  Garfield  had  not  a  single  piece  of  artillery  to  give 
an  answering  shot.  Night  was  closing  in.  The  Union 
troops  had  steadily  advanced,  and  the  time  had  come 
to  decide  the  battle. 

Colonel  Garfield  stepped  in  front  of  the  line,  tossed 
his  overcoat  into  a  tree,  and  turned  to  his  men. 

"  Come  on,  boys,  give  them  Hail  Columbia  ! "  he 
shouted. 

The  line  moved  up  the  hill  with  a  hurrah.  A  panic 
seized  the  Rebels  ;  they  fled  from  the  ledge,  and 
from  the  shelter  of  the  trees,  in  wild  confusion. 

The  sun  had  set ;  the  midwinter  night  was  closing 
in.  The  soldiers  were  eager  to  pursue  ;  but  though  the 
enemy  had  been  driven,  though  they  had  fled  in  con 
fusion  from  the  position  they  had  held  with  so  much 
pertinacity,  no  one  knew  what  Marshall  might  have 
in  reserve,  and  the  troops  were  placed  in  position  for 
anything  that  might  happen. 

Suddenly  the  sky  was  bright  in  the  direction  of  Mar 
shall's  line  of  retreat.  Reconnoissance  showed  that 
he  had  abandoned  everything  ;  had  set  his  wagons, 
supplies,  baggage  of  all  kinds,  on  fire  ;  that  his  army 
was  a  mob  fleeing  in  hot  haste  through  the  moun 
tain  passes.  He  made  his  escape  through  Pound 
Gap,  his  troops  scattering  in  every  direction,  never  to 
be  brought  together  again  as  an  opposing  force. 

Colonel  Garfield  had   obeyed   orders,  accomplished 


MIDDLE    CREEK. 


141 


what  he  was  directed  to  do,  and  was  master  of  eastern 
Kentucky. 

It  was  not  a  battle  attended  by  great  loss  of  life,  but 
it  had  one  important  bearing  on  the  grand  campaign 
about  beginning  along  the  Ohio  ;  it  was  tJie  first  break 
in  the  Rebel  line.  It  relieved  eastern  Kentucky  ;  it 
quieted  Buell's  apprehensions  of  an  attack  on  the  left 
flank. 

A  few  days  later  General  Thomas  made  the  second 
break  at  Mill  spring,  in  the  overthrow  and  death  of 
Zollicoffer.  Then  came  Fort  Henry,  Donelson,  the 
evacuation  of  Bowling  Green  by  Sidney  Johnson,  and 
the  advance  of  the  Union  army  to  the  line  of  the  Ten 
nessee. 

In  the  east,  the  Union  troops  had  suffered  disaster  at 
Big  Bethel,  Bull  Run,  and  Ball's  Bluff.  This  was  the 
first  victory  after  the  slight  affairs  of  Rosecrans  and 
McClellan  in  Western  Virginia,  and  it  was  refreshing  to 
the  country. 

It  was  during  the  brief  season  of  rest  and  prepara 
tion  at  Paintville,  that  an  incident  occurred  which  is 
worthy  of  record,  because  it  illustrates  the  quality  of 
Colonel  Garfield's  energy,  and  the  kind  of  pluck  that 
was  demanded  to  insure  success  in  the  Sandy  Valley. 
The  river  was  full,  the  current  swift,  and  the  troops  at 
Paintville  were  living  upon  less  than  half  rations. 
Colonel  Garfield  went  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  Big 
Sandy  to  see  what  made  the  supply  steamers  so  slow 
and  uncertain.  He  found  there  the  "  Sandy  Valley,"  a 
small,  rickety,  stern-wheel  steamer,  tied  up  to  the 
wharf  at  Catletsburg.  He  ordered  the  captain  to  take 


I42  JAMES  A,   GARFIELD. 

on  a  load  of  supplies,  and  start  up  the  river.  The  captain 
said  the  water  was  too  high,  and  the  trip  impossible. 
Efforts  to  get  other  steamers  having  failed,  Garfield 
took  command,  had  the  vessel  loaded,  stationed  a  sol- 
diei  on  deck  to  keep  the  captain  to  his  duty,  and  him 
self  took  the  wheel.  His  canal-boat  experience  stood 
him  in  good  stead  now,  and  notwithstanding  the  pro 
tests  of  the  captain  that  no  boat  could  stem  such  a 
current,  the  wheezing  craft  crept  slowly  up  the  stream. 
The  water  was  sixty  feet  deep  in  the  channel  ;  the 
trees  along  the  bank,  submerged  nearly  to  their  tops, 
rocked  and  swayed  in  the  rushing  current,  and  the 
rickety  steamer,  doing  her  utmost,  could  only  make 
three  miles  an  hour. 

Night  came.  The  captain  insisted  that  the  boat 
must  be  tied  up.  To  continue  such  a  voyage  as  that 
by  night  was,  he  said,  "simple  madness."  But  the 
man  at  the  wheel  was  captain  then,  and  he  had  come 
from  a  country  where  boats  did  not  usually  tie  up  at 
night.  He  ordered  the  fires  freshened,  and  still  kept 
the  bow  up  the  stream.  Finally,  in  rounding  an  ab 
rupt  bend  in  the  river,  the  boat  was  caught  by  the  cur 
rent  and  swung  round,  hard  and  heavy,  on  a  bar  of 
quicksand.  Every  effort  to  back  and  spar  her  off 
failed.  Tools  were  brought  and  excavations  dug 
around  the  imbedded  bow,  but  in  vain. 

"  Get  a  line  to  the  opposite  shore  !"  ordered  Garfield 

The  boatman  protested,  and  swore  that  it  could  not 

be   done.     The  Colonel  himself  leaped  into  the  yawl 

and  steered  it  across.     The  current  swept  them  down, 

but  finally  they  reached  the  shore,  made  fast  a  line; 


MIDDLE    CREEK. 


145 


twisted  it  with  a  grail  until  the  strain  drew  the  steamer 
from  her  bed  in  the  mud,  and  once  more  she  headed  up 
the  river. 

All  Saturday  afternoon  and  night,  Sunday,  and  Sun 
day  night,  Colonel  Garfield  kept  his  place  at  the  wheel, 
with  only  a  brief  interval  on  Sunday,  when  the  captain, 
thoroughly  conquered,  could  be  trusted  to  run  the  boat. 
At  nine  o'clock  Monday  morning,  the  "  Sandy  Valley  " 
reached  Paintville,  and  the  brigade,  almost  down  to 
their  last  cracker,  obtained  fresh  supplies. 

General  Buell  issued  the  following  congratulatory 
order,  upon  receipt  of  the  intelligence  of  Marshall's 
defeat : 

"  HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  OHIO,  > 

Louisville,  Ky.,  Jan.  20,  1862.          \ 

"GENERAL  ORDER  No.  40. 

"  The  General  commanding  takes  occasion  to  thank 
General  Garfield  and  his  troops  for  their  succesful  cam 
paign  against  the  Rebel  force  under  General  Marshall, 
on  the  Big  Sandy,  and  their  gallant  conduct  in  battle. 
They  have  overcome  formidable  obstacles  in  the  char 
acter  of  the  country,  the  condition  of  the  roads,  and 
the  inclemency  of  the  season  ;  and  without  artillery 
have  been  successful  in  several  engagements  termi 
nating  in  the  battle  on  Middle  Creek,  on  the  roth  inst, 
driven  the  enemy  from  his  intrenched  position,  and 
forced  him  back  into  the  mountains  with  the  loss  of  a 
large  amount  of  baggage  and  stores,  and  many  of  his 
men  killed  or  captured. 

"  These  services  have  called  into  action  the  highest 

10 


JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

qualities   of    a   soldier's    fortitude,    perseverance,   and 
courage.  D.  C.  BUELL, 

''General  commanding? 

It  will  be  interesting  just  here  to  note  the  difference 
we  sometimes  see  in  men. 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  done  nothing  since 
the  defeat  at  Bull  Run.  General  McClellan  had  been 
its  commander  the  while.  He  had  laid  his  plans  be 
fore  the  President  on  the  4th  of  August  after  the  bat 
tle,  lie  thought  twenty  thousand  men  would  be  suf 
ficient  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  but  that  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  ought  to  be  increased  to  two  hundred 
and  seventy-three  thousand  men. 

In  October,  he  had  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
thousand,  but  he  was  not  ready  to  advance.  He  in 
formed  the  Secretary  of  War  that  he  could  not  possi 
bly  advance  with  less  than  two  hundred  and  eight 
thousand  !  This  was  the  reason  : 

"  The  enemy  have  a  force  on  the  Potomac  not  less 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  strong,  well 
drilled  and  equipped,  ably  commanded  and  strongly 
intrenched." 

That  was  his  estimate,  from  negroes,  from  men  reach 
ing  Washington  from  inside  the  Rebel  lines.  Other 
people  estimated  the  Confederate  forces  under  Johnson 
at  less  than  half  that  number.  We  now  know  that  his 
force,  October  31,  1861,  was  sixty-six  thousand  two 
hundred  and  forty. 

The  days  were  bright  and  beautiful,  the  roads  of 
Virginia  in  excellent  condition.  The  Army  of  the  Po- 


MIDDLE   CREEK.  147 

tomac  had  abundant  transportation,  mules  and  horses 
by  the  ten  thousand,  wagon-trains  in  order.  The  army 
was  well  organized,  but  McClellan  said  that  his  troops 
were  raw,  while  the  Confederates  were  well  drilled  and 
disciplined.  In  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  he 
stated  that  he  thought  he  might  be  able  to  move  on 
the  25th  of  November.  He  held  grand  reviews  for  the 
gratification  of  the  senators  and  representatives,  and 
their  families,  at  Washington.  Wherever  the  com 
mander  rode,  he  was  accompanied  by  a  brilliant  staff. 
His  division,  and  many  of  his  brigade  commanders, 
were  West  Point  men  —  supposed  to  know  the  art  of 
war. 

November  passed  away.  There  was  no  sign  of  any 
movement.  The  Rebels,  on  the  contrary,  had  moved 
forward,  and  the  smoke  of  their  cannon  could  be  seen 
from  the  dome  of  the  Capitol. 

The  public  was  getting  impatient.  The  commander 
had  been  called  at  the  outset  "  the  young  Napoleon," 
but  such  inaction  did  not  bear  much  resemblance  to 
Austerlitz  .or  Wagram. 

The  Confederate  troops  held  daily  skirmishes  along 
the  line  as  if  inviting  him  to  advance.  The  Indian 
summer  passed,  and  the  army  was  motionless  through 
all  the  glorious  season  ;  its  farthest  advance  was  scarcely 
three  miles  from  the  Potomac. 

The  public  was  getting  more  impatient.  The  Presi 
dent  was  in  distress.  He  urged  McClellan  to  move. 
He  consulted  with  other  officers. 

"  If  General  McClellan  does  not  want  to  use  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  I  should  like  to  borrow  it  of 


f48  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

him,  for  if  something  is  not  done  soon  the  bottom  will 
drop  out  of  the  whole  affair,"  he  said  in  sadness. 

He  asked  McClellan  if  he  had  any  plans.  McClellan 
did  not  wish  to  reveal  his  plans  to  anybody,  not  even 
to  the  President,  but  he  gave  one  at  last  —  to  leave  a 
few  raw  troops  to  hold  the  forts  around  Washington, 
and  move  the  army  by  water  down  the  Potomac  and 
up  the  Rappahannock. 

The  New  Year  came ;  nothing  had  been  done,  and 
the  troops  were  building  log  huts  for  winter-quarters. 

On  the  1 2th  of  January,  a  despatch  informed  the 
President  and  Secretary  of  War  that  Colonel  Garfield 
had  won  the  battle  of  Middle  Creek,  and  driven  Hum 
phrey  Marshall,  commanding  a  force  twice  as  large  as 
Garfield's,  out  of  eastern  Kentucky. 

Colonel  Garfield  !  Who  was  he  ?  Nobody  had  ever 
heard  of  him.  The  Rebel  line  had  been  broken.  If 
Colonel  Garfield  could  force  his  way  through  mud  and 
mire,  through  sleet,  rain,  and  snow,  into  a  mountain 
region  where  the  roads  were  only  bridle-paths,  where 
the  soldiers  had  to  pack  their  provisions  on  their  backs, 
sleep  in  the  open  air  without  tents,  why  could  not  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  move  ?  If  the  raw  troops  from 
Ohio  without  cannon  could  defeat  double  their  number, 
why  could  not  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  hope  for  suc 
cess  ? 

Two  days  after  the  receipt  of  Garfield's  victory,  the 
President  called  a  meeting  of  the  Cabinet  and  army 
officers  of  high  rank  for  consultation. 

President  Lincoln  asked  General  McClellan  as  to 
his  plans.  He  protested  against  laying  them  before 


MIDDLE   CREEK. 


149 


the  President  and  Cabinet,  unless  under  peremptory 
orders.  He  was  maturing  his  plans  and  would  lay 
them  before  the  President  in  a  short  time. 

Two  weeks  passed.  No  word  came  from  McClellan, 
and  the  President  losing  all  patience,  issued  a  per 
emptory  order,  fixing  a  date  on  which,  about  a  month 
later,  all  the  armies  were  to  advance.  Only  under 
stress  of  peremptory  orders  did  the  general  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  make  preparations  for  moving. 

His  plan  was  to  go  by  water  to  Fortress  Monroe. 
But  the  Rebels  had  batteries  along  the  Potomac,  and 
must  be  driven  out  before  that  could  be  done. 

The  President  would  not  consent  to  have  Wash 
ington  exposed,  and  ordered  him  to  move  upon  Manas- 
sas.  McClellan  objected,  and  the  President  finally 
yielded  to  his  wishes  and  ordered  water  transportation 
January,  February,  March  passed  before  McClellan 
was  ready.  Meanwhile  the  Rebels  quietly  evacuated 
Manassas  and  the  Potomac,  and  fell  back  to  meet  him 
on  the  Peninsula. 

I  turn  once  more  to  Middle  Creek.  Colonel  Gar- 
field  was  just  thirty  years  old.  He  knew  literally 
nothing  of  war  ;  never  had  seen  men  in  line  except 
at  Camp  Chase.  He  had  been  called  upon  by  Buell 
to  plan  a  campaign  against  a  country  of  which  he 
knew  nothing  except  that  it  was  a  region  of  mountains, 
narrow  valleys,  deep  ravines,  and  sparsely  settled.  He 
had  formed  his  plan  between  sunset  and  sunrise  —  in 
formed  himself  of  the  character  of  the  country,  of  the 
difficulties  of  the  enterprise.  The  enemy  outnumbered 
him  two  to  one.  Every  step  of  his  march  was  through 


I50  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

deep  mud  or  pelting  storms.  He  never  hesitated  one 
instant  He  marched  straight  on,  won  the  victory,  and 
electrified  the  country  at  a  time  when  general  gloom 
had  settled  upon  the  nation. 

Surely  there  is  a  difference  in  men. 


UNION   VICTORIES. 


XIV. 

UNION  VICTORIES. 

VICTORIES  are  not  great  on  account  of  numbers 
engaged  in  battle,  but  greatness  is  to  be  estimated 
by  results.  The  whole  of  the  Russian  army  and  all  of 
Napoleon's,  with  the  exception  of  the  Imperial  guard, 
were  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Borodino.  There  was  a 
terrible  slaughter  of  human  beings,  the  ground  was 
drenched  with  blood  ;  the  Russians  were  defeated,  but 
the  battle  decided  nothing.  Napoleon  marched  on  to 
Moscow  ;  the  Russians  gave  the  city  to  the  flames, 
compelling  the  retreat  of  the  French  :  that  was  all. 

We  turn  to  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  where  Wolfe  and 
Montcalm  faced  each  other.  The  troops  engaged  in 
that  contest  were  not  greater  than  those  under  Gar- 
field  and  Marshall  at  Middle  Creek  ;  the  battle  lasted 
scarcely  twenty  minutes,  yet  it  was  the  wresting  of,  an 
empire  from  France,  the  coming  in  of  another  lan 
guage,  another  literature,  another  religion,  another 
civilization  ! 

The  victory  of  Middle  Creek,  contrasted  with  other 
battles  of  the  Civil  War,  seems  insignificant,  and  yet  its 
influence  was  far-reaching.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war,  a  number  of  civilians  —  men  who,  had  had  no  mili- 


152  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

tary  training  —  were  appointed  as  generals.  They  were 
appointed  from  political  rather  than  military  considera 
tion  ;  but  the  disaster  at  Big  Bethel,  in  Virginia,  at  the 
outset  had  put  civilians  as  commanders  at  a  discount 
in  the  estimation  of  the  public.  Rosecrans  and  Mc- 
Clellan's  successes  in  West  Virginia  had  increased  the 
feeling  against  civilian  commanders,  and  had  brought 
officers  educated  at  West  Point  to  the  front- 
McDowell's  defeat  at  Bull  Run  did  not  change  mat 
ters  in  public  estimation.  The  belief  was  still  upper 
most  that  only  those  who  had  been  educated  at  West 
Point  could  be  successful  commanders. 

Those  who  had  thus  been  educated  were  appointed 
to  responsible  positions,  and  it  is  very  certain  that  those 
gentlemen  took  no  pains  to  disabuse  the  public  of  their 
ideas  in  relation  to  the  worthiness  of  West  Point  gradu 
ates. 

Every  division  commander,  and  many  of  the  brigade 
commanders,  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  at  that 
period,  and  many  in  more  subordinate  positions,  had 
been  educated  at  West  Point.  But  a  West  Point  offi 
cer,  commander  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  as  we 
have  seen,  had  nearly  exhausted  the  patience  of  Presi 
dent  Lincoln,  by  his  inaction,  indecision  and  extrava 
gant  demands,  and  the  patience  of  the  public  was  fast 
going,  when  the  news  of  Garfield's  victory  was  flashed 
over  the  country. 

At  first  it  was  hardly  credited.  It  was  not  thought 
possible  that  a  school-teacher  only  thirty  years  of 
age  could  make  such  a  march  through  a  country  as 
mountainous  as  Switzerland,  along  bridle-paths,  amid 


UNION    VICTORIES. 

ice  and  snow,  with  a  brigade  of  raw  troops,  without 
artillery,  and  attack  a  force  double  his  own,  in  a  strong 
position,  win  a  notable  victory,  driving  the  Rebels  out 
of  eastern  Kentucky. 

When  the  news  was  confirmed,  people  saw  that  men 
without  military  education  could  make  successful  cam 
paigns,  and  the  public  began  to  revise  its  opinions, 
Garfield's  success  stimulated  their  hopes  and  gave 
them  renewed  confidence  of  ultimately  putting  down 
the  rebellion. 

The  victory  was  more  than  this :  it  inaugurated  a 
series  of  brilliant  victories.  To  understand  its  far- 
reaching  influence,  let  us  glance  at  the  state  of  affairs. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  Kentucky,  through  the 
influence  of  secession  sympathizers,  and  the  action  of 
Governor  McGoffin,  endeavored  to  take  the  impractica 
ble  position  of  a  neutral  State,  but  the  sweep  of  events 
carried  it  from  that  position  in  a  very  short  time  —  the 
Confederates  taking  possession  of  the  southern  section 
and  the  Union  army  of  the  northern. 

Albert  Sidney  Johnston  was  commander  of  the  Con 
federate  forces  in  the  State.  He"  selected  Bowling 
Green,  on  the  railroad  leading  southwest  from  Lexing 
ton,  as  the  center  of  his  line  —  his  right  wing  extend 
ing  first  to  Mill  Springs  on  the  Cumberland,  at  the 
head  of  navigation,  where  General  Zollicoffer  was  sta 
tioned  with  a  large  force.  Humphrey  Marshall,  in 
eastern  Kentucky,  was  at  the  extreme  point  of  his  right. 
His  left  wing  extended  to  Fort  Donelson  on  the  Cum 
berland,  and  Fort  Henry  ten  miles  farther  west,  on  the 
Tennessee. 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

Humphrey  Marshall  was  to  sweep  down  the  Big 
Sandy  to  the  Ohio,  while  Zollicoffer  at  the  same  time 
would  advance  into  the  rich  country  south  of  Lexing 
ton.  His  cavalry  made  several  successful  raids,  return 
ing  with  rich  supplies,  taken  from  Kentucky  Unionists 
and  General  Buell's  wagon-trains.  Zollicoffer  had  eight 
thousand  troops.  He  erected  strong  fortifications  on 
both  sides  of  the  Cumberland,  as  a  base  from  which 
to  operate.  He  was  not  there  merely  to  hold  the  posi 
tion,  but  to  make  a  movement  in  conjunction  with 
Marshall,  which  should  turn  Buell's  left  flank  and 
force  him  back  to  Louisville. 

General  Buell's  extreme  left,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
the  force  under  Garfield.  The  next  troops  in  the  line 
going  west  was  a  brigade  under  General  Schcepf,  and 
not  far  from  it,  another  brigade  under  George  H. 
Thomas,  born  in  Virginia,  but  loyal  to  the  Stars  and 
Stripes. 

ZollicofTer,  through  spies  and  pretended  Unionists, 
knowing  all  that  was  going  on  in  the  Union  armies, 
learning  that  Schcepf  and  Thomas  were  intending  to 
unite,  resolved  to  crush  first  one  and  then  the  other. 
He  advanced  suddenly  from  Mill  Springs  toward 
Somerset,  marching  through  the  night,  striking  four 
Union  regiments  at  daylight,  attacking  with  great  im 
petuosity,  driving  all  before  him.  The  Union  troops 
were  badly  cut  up,  but  reinforcements  came,  and  "the 
battle  was  renewed  with  great  vigor,  resulting  in  the 
death  of  Zollicoffer,  —  the  utter  routing  of  his  troops, 
who  fled  in  consternation  across  the  Cumberland,  aban 
doning  their  cannon  and  a  large  amount  of  supplies, 


UNION    VICTORIES.  155 

twelve  hundred  horses,  one  hundred  wagons.  The 
whole  Confederate  force  melted  away  on  January  iQth, 
nine  days  after  the  victory  of  Garfield.  Johnston's  en 
tire  right  wing  had  been  annihilated. 

The  time  had  come  for  crushing  the  Confederate  left 
wing.  A  great  fleet  of  river  steamers,  carrying  a  force 
under  General  Grant,  escorted  by  the  gunboats  under 
Commander  Foote,  sailed  from  Cairo  up  the  Tennessee 
to  atack  Fort  Henry. 

The  troops  were  landed,  the  gunboats  moved  to  the 
attack,  steering  steadily  up-stream,  pouring  in  a  fire 
which  dismounted  the  Confederate  guns,  tore  up  the 
breastwork,  —  in  one  hour  and  ten  minutes  compelling 
a  surrender. 

The  taking  of  this  fortification  opened  a  back  door 
to  Fort  Donelson  on  the  Cumberland. 

General  Grant  moved  upon  Fort  Donelson.  The  Con 
federates,  under  Floyd,  and  Pillow,  and  Buckner,  on 
February  I4th,  marched  out  to  attack  him,  but  were 
driven  back.  The  next  day  (Saturday)  Grant  renewed 
the  conflict,  compelling  a  surrender  on  the  sixteenth  — 
Sunday. 

Thirteen  thousand  prisoners,  three  thousand  horses, 
forty- eight  pieces  of  field  artillery,  seventeen  heavy 
guns,  twenty  thousand  small  arms,  and  an  immense 
amount  of  stores,  were  the  fruits  of  the  victory. 

On  Saturday  noon,  General  Pillow  sent  this  despatch 
to  Johnson: 

"  All  is  going  well.  On  the  honor  of  a  soldier,  the 
day  is  ours." 

Sunday  morning  at  daylight,  he  and  Floyd  were  flee- 


156  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

ing  from  the  fort,  leaving  Buckner  to  make  the  surren 
der.  Johnston's  entire  left  wing  had  been  crushed,  as 
one  might,  crush  a  paper  box.  There  was  a  quick  mov 
ing  of  Johnston's  troops  from  Bowling  Green  on  that 
Sunday  morning,  trains  bearing  regiments  and  brigades 
southward  past  Nashville. 

The  newspapers  at  Nashville  on  that  same  morning 
appeared  with  flaming  head-lines  — 

"  ENEMY   RETREATING  !  "      "  GLORIOUS  RESULTS  ! " 

rf  OUR  BOYS  FOLLOWING,  AND  PEPPERING  THEIR  REAR!  " 

"  A  COMPLETE  VICTORY  !  " 

The  bells  rang  out  their  jubilant  peals,  and  the  citi 
zens  shook  hands  over  the  good  news  as  they  went  to 
church.  An  hour  later  there  was  weeping  and  wailing. 
Fort  Donelson  had  surrendered.  People  poured  out 
from  the  churches.  Those  who  sympathized  with  the 
rebellion  packed  their  goods.  Every  team  in  Nash 
ville  was  engaged  ;  carts,  wagons,  carriages,  drays  —  all 
were  loaded.  Strong  men  were  pale,  women  wrung 
their  hands  and  mourned.  In  a  few  hours  the  gun 
boats  would  be  there. 

Down  came  the  trains  from  Bowling  Green,  bear 
ing  the  troops  southward.  All  Sunday  afternoon, 
through  the  night,  through  Monday,  they  rumbled. 
What  could  not  be  carried  away  was  destroyed,  or 
given  to  the  poor.  When  the  last  of  Johnston's  teams 
was  across  the  Cumberland,  the  abutments  of  the 
bridge,  which  had  cost  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  were  blown  up,  and  the  structure  fell  with  a 
crash  into  the  stream, 


UNION   VICTORIES.  157 

Property  which  had  cost  the  Confederacy  millions  of 
dollars  was  destroyed.  Johnston  was  hastening  south 
west,  never  halting  till  he  had  reached  Corinth,  in 
northern  Mississippi. 

Garfield  crushed  the  extreme  right  of  the  Confeder 
ate  line  on  the  loth  of  January,  and  the  victories  had 
followed  like  a  row  of  bricks,  one  after  the  other,  in 
four  weeks,  clearing  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  of  every 
Confederate  soldier  ! 

Through  the  South  there  was  gloom  and  despond 
ency  ;  throughout  the  North,  rejoicing. 

We  should  not  be  warranted  in  saying  that  these 
victories  were  wholly  due  to  the  first  breaking  of  the 
Confederate  line  at  Middle  Creek.  Probably  Thomas 
would  have  defeated  Zollicoffer  in  any  event.  Foote 
and  Grant  in  all  probability  would  have  taken  Fort 
Henry  and  Donelson,  if  Garfield  had  not  made  that 
movement  ;  but  Middle  Creek  was  the  inauguration  of 
the  series  of  victories  ;  it  was  the  first  upsetting  of 
Confederate  plans  ;  it  stimulated  the  Union  soldiers, 
it  gave  encouragement  and  hope  to  loyal  men  every 
where. 

Middle  Creek  was  like  a  refreshing  breeze  after  a 
sultry  summer's  day. 

From  the  moment  that  the  news  of  the  victory  of 
Middle  Creek  was  flashed  over  the  wires  to  Washing 
ton,  President  Lincoln  had  his  eye  on  the  young  Ohio 
colonel  who  had  set  such  a  glorious  example.  From 
that  time  on  he  kept  him  in  view,  and  sent  him  a  com 
mission  as  brigadier-general. 

While  these  victories  were  in  progress  along  the 


158  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

Union  lines,  Garfield,  having  done  what  he  set  out  to 
do,  was  descending  the  Big  Sandy  and  the  Ohio  to 
Louisville,  hastening  on  and  reporting  personally  to 
General  Buell  south  of  Nashville.  His  brigade  was 
detained  at  Louisville,  but  he  was  appointed  to  the 
command  of  the  2Oth  Brigade  of  Buell's  army  in  the 
division  commanded  by  General  T.  J.  Woods. 

The  army  was  on  its  march  toward  Pittsburg  Land 
ing.  It  was  a  toilsome  movement.  The  roads  were 
badly  cut  up,  and  there  were  frequent  rains.  Wood's 
command  was  in  the  rear.  It  arrived  at  Pittsburg 
Landing  during  the  forenoon  of  the  second  day's  fight. 


CORINTH  CAMPAIGN. 


XV. 
CORINTH   CAMPAIGN. 

AFTER  the  victory  at  Donelson,  the  troops  which 
had  taken  part  in  that  engagement  went  up  the 
Tennessee  River  on  steamers,  and  took  position  at  Pitts- 
burg  Landing,  about  ten  miles  from  the  Mississippi 
line.  General  Buell  at  the  same  time  was  slowly  mak 
ing  his  way  from  Nashville  south-west  toward  the  same 
point. 

Johnston  chose  Corinth,  the  railroad  junction  twenty 
miles  from  Pittsburg  Landing,  as  the  place  where  he 
would  rally  his  troops.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to 
make  such  a  movement  to  prevent  Grant  and  Buell 
from  moving  across  the  country  and  attacking  Mem 
phis  in  the  rear. 

When  Grant's  troops  pitched  their  tents  in  the  woods 
at  Pittsburg  Landing,  Johnston  resolved  to  steal  upon 
them  unaware  and  defeat  them  before  Buell  arrived. 
All  the  troops  that  could  be  gathered  up  from  the 
south-west  were  sent  to  him  by  railroad. 

General  Grant  had  no  expectation  of  being  attacked. 
The  infantry  pickets,  instead  of  being  out  three  or  four 
miles,  were  not  half  a  mile  beyond  camp.  His  army  was 
in  a  bad  position.  General  Grant  did  not  dream  that 


l6o  JAMES  A.  GAR  FIELD. 

fifty  thousand  men  were  ready  to  strike  him  ;  that  the 
Confederates,  with  five  days'  rations,  on  Friday  night 
started  from  Corinth  ;  that  orders  were  issued  forbid 
ding  the  soldiers  kindling  a  fire,  or  making  the  least 
noise.  Not  a  drum  beat ;  not  a  bugle  sounded  its 
note. 

Johnston  approached  in  four  lines.  General  Hardee 
was  in  front.  A  quarter  of  a  mile  in  his  rear  was  Bragg, 
behind  him  Polk,  with  Breckenridge  in  reserve.  There 
were  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  men  in  each  line. 

Grant's  force  was  much  smaller. 

At  eleven  o'clock  Saturday  evening  Hardee  was 
close  upon  the  Union  pickets.  Johnston  called  his  offi 
cers  and  gave  them  this  order.  They  were  to  attack 
at  daylight. 

"  We  sleep  to-morrow  night  in  the  enemy's  camp," 
said  Beauregard. 

At  three  o'clock  Sunday  morning  the  Confederates 
were  awake,  their  breakfasts  eaten,  their  blankets  folded, 
their  knapsacks  laid  aside.  The  morning  brightened, 
and  the  long  lines  wound  through  the  forest.  The 
Union  army  was  asleep.  The  pickets  were  keeping 
guard,  all  others  in  slumber.  There  was  nothing  to 
indicate  that  a  hostile  army  was  scarcely  a  mile  from 
the  picket  lines,  ready  .to  swoop  down  like  an  eagle 
upon  its  prey. 

The  Union  army  consisted  of  seven  divisions  :  Hurl- 
burt's,  W.  H.  L.  Wallace's,  near  Pittsburg  Landing  ; 
McClernand's,  Sherman's,  and  Prentiss's,  nearly  three 
miles  farther  out ;  and  Lewis  Wallace's,  at  Cramps 
Landing,  seven  miles  down  the  river.  General  Grant 


CORINTH   CAMPAIGN.  X6i 

was  at  Savannah,  ten  miles  distant  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river. 

Suddenly  the  Union  pickets  saw  a  long  line  of  men 
moving  upon  them.  The  muskets  rattled,  couriers 
hastened  to  give  the  alarm  to  Prentiss  and*  Sherman. 
The  drums  beat,  but  before  the  men  were  awake,  Hardee 
was  upon  them,  sweeping  all  before  him,  and  taking 
possession  of  Sherman's  camp  at  Shiloh  Church,  and 
of  Prentiss's,  near  the  river. 

It  is  not  necessary  in  this  sketch  of  General  Gar- 
field's  life  to  follow  out  the  details  of  the  battle  through 
Sunday  • — how  the  Union  troops  rallied  ;  how,  after  the 
first  confusion,  they  contested  every  inch  of  ground, 
falling  back  slowly  and  stubbornly  ;  how,  at  nightfall, 
massing  his  artillery,  and  concentrating  his  lines  along 
a  ravine,  with  the  aid  of  the  gunboats,  the  progress  of 
the  Confederates  was  checked  ;  how  Buell's  first  divis 
ion  arrived,  ascended  the  hill,  and  came  into  position  ; 
how  the  Confederates  rested  on  their  arms,  intending 
to  resume  the  fight  in  the  morning  ;  how,  on  Monday 
morning,  Buell's  troops  were  in  line. 

Grant  turned  the  tables,  and  began  the  attack,  and 
pressed  on  his  columns.  Beauregard,  who  succeeded  to 
the  command  after  Johnston's  death,  was  driven  back 
over  all  the  ground  won  the  day  before,  and  at  night 
was  fleeing  to  Corinth. 

Garfield's  brigade  was  in  Woods'  division  —  the  last 

to  cross  the  river.     Garfield  was  in  position  to  take 

part  in  the  struggle  at  noon,  but  the- battle  was  dying 

away,  and  he  was  not  called  upon.     The  Confederates 

II 


162  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

had  been  foiled  and  defeated  with  great  loss,  yet 
Beauregard  claimed  a  great  victory. 

On  the  last  week  in  April,  1862,  in  the  woods  of 
Tennessee,  near  Shiloh  Church,  I  saw  the  commander 
of  a  brigade  exercising  it  upon  the  double-quick.  The 
troops  were  marching  in  column,  moving  with  precis 
ion  at  the  word  of  command,  charging  bayonets,  wheel 
ing  to  the  right  and  left,  in  admirable  order. 

"  It  is  Colonel  Garfield  who  won  the  battle  of  Middle 
Creek,"  said  my  fellow-correspondent,  Whitelaw  Reid, 
then  of  the  Cincinnati  Gazette,  now  of  the  New  York 
Tribune. 

Courteous  and  hearty  our  reception.  We  were  upon 
the  ground  where  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  bivouacked 
his  troops  on  that  Saturday  night  —  two  miles  from 
Shiloh  Church.  In  this  connection  I  reproduce  words 
written  on  the  28th  of  April,  1862  : 

"This  out-of-the-way  place  has  become  historic. 
Beauregard  has  named  the  late  battlefield  the  Field  of 
Shiloh.  Our  right  wing  on  Sunday  morning  rested  on 
Shiloh  grounds.  There  the  contest  was  waged  with 
terrible  fierceness  all  through  that  bloody  day.  There 
the  next  morning  it  was  renewed,  and  there  the  enemy 
was  put  to  rout.  There,  to  use  the  Hebrew  term  Shiloh, 
was  our  *  deliverance'  Let  us  accept  this  name  as  that 
by  which  the  victory  shall  be  known  in  history. 

"  It  is  not  a  costly  edifice.  No  white  spire  points 
heavenward.  The  aisles  are  not  carpeted.  There  is  no 
sweet-toned  organ  with  triple  rows  of  keys.  Through 
the  windows  streams  no  '  dim,  religious  light.'  It  has 


CORINTH  CAMPAIGN. 

no  silver-toned  bell,  no  fluted  columns  supporting  a 
fretted  roof.  It  is  of  modest  dimensions,  about  twenty 
feet  square,  built  of  logs.  The  chinking  is  gone,  washed 
out  by  the  rains.  It  would  make  a  very  good  corn-crib. 
It  has  no  pulpit  or  pews  —  never  had.  The  people 
worshiped  on  benches.  The  logs  bear  the  marks  of 
the  leaden  rain,  which  swept  around  it  during  the  con 
test.  After  the  fight  it  was  used  as  a  hospital,  but  the 
floor  has  been  torn  up,  and  it  is  now  suitable  for  a 
southern  cow-house  ;  but  in  the  North  it  would  be  an 
unsightly  object,  fit  for  firewood  or  fence-rails. 

"  Shiloh  has  been  a  place  for  camp-meetings.  A  few 
rods  south  a  clear  running  brook  meanders  through 
the  forest,  fed  by  limpid  springs,  furnishing  excellent 
water  for  the  worshipful  assemblies.  Three  miles  dis 
tant  is  the  Tennessee,  where  the  baptismal  rites  could 
be  performed.  All  around  is  a  grand  old  forest,  fur 
nishing  grateful  shade.  There  is  a  clearing  across  the 
ravine,  —  an  old  house  in  the  last  stages  of  decay,  rid 
dled  now  by  cannon-shot.  This  is  Shiloh  Field. 

"There  are  other  fields  —  little  patches  of  cleared 
land,  which  have  been  under  the  plow  for  fifty  years, 
while  the  surrounding  forests  have  stood  in  all  their 
majesty,  with  undeveloped,  virgin  richness  of  uncounted 
centuries  beneath  the  mold.  This  place  has  stood  still 
while  the  rest  of  the  world  has  moved  on. 

"  The  place  is  no  further  advanced  than  it  was  when 
the  first  settlers  came  over  the  mountains.  Civilization 
came,  made  a  beginning,  but  there  has  been  no  ad 
vance.  No  elevation,  no  aspiration  after  a  better  state 


JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

of  being.  How  the  tilth  and  culture  of  old  Worcester 
would  crown  these  swells  of  land  with  sheaves  of 
golden  grain  !  What  corn  and  clover-fields,  redolent 
with  sweets  ;  pastures  of  honeysuckle  ;  gardens  of 
roses  !  What  white  cottages,  with  green  bovvers  ;  what 
churches  and  schoolhouses,  towns  and  villages  !  Here, 
within  three  miles  of  one  of  the  most  beautiful  rivers  in 
the  world,  within  fourteen  miles  of  railroad  communi 
cation,  the  forest  remains  undisturbed.  The  mourning 
dove  fills  the  sylvan  scene  with  its  plaintive  melody, 
and  the  people  plod  on,  in  the  old-time  paths,  just 
ignorant  enough  to  fight  against  their  own  interests. 
Why  ?  Slavery  reigns  !  " 

After  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing,  General  Hal- 
leek  came  from  St.  Louis,  and  took  command  of  the 
army  in  person,  shelving  General  Grant,  who,  though 
he  remained  with  the  army,  was  wholly  ignored  by 
Halleck,  who  commenced  a  snail-like  movement  to 
ward  Corinth,  fully  believing  that  Beauregard  was 
going  to  make  a  stand  at  that  point,  and  that  he  had 
an  army  nearly  or  quite  as  large  as  his  own.  Halleck 
constructed  a  series  of  lines  of  breastworks,  nearly  one 
hundred  miles  in  all,  dug  large  arid  deep  wells,  creeping 
on  a  mile  or  two  a  day,  his  advance  having  frequent 
skirmishes  with  the  Rebels. 

In  all  of  these  labors  the  brigade  under  Garfield  took 
part.  There  were  frequent  rains,  the  mud  was  deep, 
and  many  of  the  soldiers,  owing  to  want  of  proper 
vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  brigade  and  regimental 
commanders,  were  down  with  sickness.  General  Gar- 


CORINTH   CAMPAIGN. 


I65 


field's  troops  were  an  exception.  The  discipline,  firm, 
steady,  constant ;  the  sanitary  regulations,  rigidly  en 
forced,  kept  the  health-rate  at  a  high  average. 

The  brigade  which  General  Garfield  had  first  com 
manded  held  him  in  high  esteem  ;  the  brigade  then 
under  his  command  soon  came  to  hold  him  in  equal 
respect  and  admiration. 

General  Halleck  was  a  month  in  moving  twenty 
miles.  The  last  week  in  May  his  siege-guns  were  in 
position  to  open  fire  upon  Beauregard's  lines,  but  the 
Confederates  were  not  there.  Beauregard  had  hood 
winked  him,  and  silently  departed,  destroying  the 
railroad,  and  burning  bridges  along  the  entire  line  from 
Memphis  to  Huntsville. 

To  the  commander  who  had  triumphed  over  the 
difficulties  of  a  campaign  in  eastern  Kentucky  in  mid 
winter,  who  had  shown  an  energy  not  surpassed  by  any 
other  officers,  was  assigned  the  task  of  reconstructing 
the  lines.  It  was  work  about  which  there  could  be  no 
dilly-dallying ;  it  must  be  done  with  expedition.  The 
army  must  have  its  supplies. 

"  An  army  is  dependent  on  its  belly,"  said  Napoleon, 
meaning  that  it  could  do  nothing  without  its  rations. 

General  Garfield  executed  the  task  with  expedition. 
He  was  everywhere  along  the  lines,  personally  direct 
ing,  putting  forth  his  utmost  energy,  accomplishing  the 
'work  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  Major-General  Hal 
leck,  and  the  department  at  Washington. 

"  I  can  see  now,"  said  Mrs.  Garfield  to  her  husband, 
after  hearing  of  his  steering  the  steamboat  up  the  Big 
Sandy,  —  "I  can  see  now  why  you  was  led  to  go  upon 


JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

the  canal  —  that  the  experience  might  be  of  value  to 
you  when  your  country  needed  it." 

So  Christian  faith -and  recognition  of  a  Divine  hand 
guiding  and  directing  the  affairs  of  life,  interpreted  the 
meaning.  Was  it  that  he  might  be  of  further  use  to 
his  country  in  the  great  struggle  that  he  became  a  car 
penter  ?  Certain  it  is  that  his  knowledge  of  that  occu 
pation  was  of  value  in  the  bridge-building.  The  man 
who  had  made  mortises  and  tenons,  who  could  use  the 
square  and  scratch-awl,  had  a  practical  knowledge  that 
gave  him  great  advantage.  His  practiced  eye  could 
decide  in  an  instant  what  shape  the  structure  should 
have.  The  man  who,  when  a  boy  of  sixteen,  could  cut 
two  cords  of  wood  a  day,  knew  what  men  could  do 
with  axes.  The  man  who  bought  the  second  algebra 
he  had  ever  seen,  who  had  mastered  the  problems  of 
geometry,  who  supplemented  the  practical  by  the  the 
oretical,  who,  in  his  early  student  days,  had  "  a  defi 
nite  object  in  view  "  and  had  attained  it  ;  who  made  it 
a  rule  of  life  to  accomplish  whatever  he  undertook  to 
do,  —  is  it  any  wonder  that  he  quickly  accomplished 
the  task  assigned  him  ? 

The  hardships  of  the  campaign  were  beginning  to 
tell  upon  him.  He  was  exposed  day  and  night  to  the 
malarious  influences  of  the  swamps,  and,  though  en 
dowed  by  nature  with  a  grand  physique,  his  health 
gave  way  ;  he  was  placed  upon  the  sick-list  and  allowed 
leave  of  absence. 

He  left  the  army  August  ist,  but  soon  after  coming 
home  orders  reached  him  from  the  War  Department  to 
proceed  to  Cumberland  Gap  and  relieve  General  G. 


CORINTH   CAMPAIGN.  167 

W.  Morgan,  who  was  in  command  at  that  important 
post,  but  he  was  too  ill  to  comply  with  the  order.  In 
October  he  was  ordered  to  Washington,  having  been 
selected  as  one  of  the  court-martial  for  the  trial  of 
Fitz-John  Porter,  upon  the  conclusion  of  which  he  was 
appointed  chief  of  staff  to  General  Rosecrans,  then  in 
command  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland. 


JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 


XVI. 
TULLAHOMA   CAMPAIGN. 

AFTER  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  or  Murfrees- 
boro',  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  under 
Rosecrans,  went  into  position,  January  5,  1863,  at 
Murfreesboro'.  Rosecrans's  chief  of  staff,  Garesch£, 
having  been  killed,  General  Garfield,  as  has  been  stated, 
was  appointed  to  the  position. 

Soon  after  the  occupation  of  Murfreesboro',  elaborate 
fortifications  were  projected,  and  then  construction 
began,  the  whole  army  doing  nothing  except  to  erect 
earthworks  and  mount  cannon.  All  through  the  win 
ter  and  spring  the  army  of  Rosecrans  remained  at 
Murfreesboro'. 

General  Bragg  was  a  few  miles  south  with  a  large 
army.  He  had  a  force  of  cavalry  under  Forrest  and 
Morgan,  who,  taking  advantage  of  Rosecrans's  inactiv 
ity,  went  pretty  much  where  they  pleased.  On  the 
last  of  January  they  cut  round  Rosecrans  to  his  rear. 
There  were  numerous  reconnoissances  and  affairs  of 
outposts,  but  no  determined  movement  on  the -part 
of  Rosecrans.  General  Halleck  urged  him  to  ad 
vance.  After  General  Grant  had  commenced  his  cam 
paign  against  Vicksburg,  Halleck  became  more  urgent, 


TULLAHOMA    CAMPAIGN. 


169 


maintaining  that  Rosecrans's  inactivity  would  enable 
Bragg  to  send  a  portion  of  his  command  to  Pemberton, 
who  was  defending  Vicksburg. 

Rosecrans  maintained  that  the  roads  were  in  such 
condition  that  there  was  no  time  during  the  spring 
when  he  could  advance  ;  that  he  had  not  sufficient  cav 
alry  or  transportation  ;  that  he  could  not  move  till  the 
cornfields  were  in  condition  to  support  his  mules.  He 
also  maintained  that  military  considerations  forbade 
his  advance  while  Grant  was  in  progress. 

It  was,  -to  say  the  least,  strange  reasoning  that  if  he 
should  compel  Bragg  to  retreat  it  would  enable  that 
officer  to  send  reinforcements  to  the  West.  He  also 
advanced  the  idea  that  if  Grant  should  chance  to  fail 
at  Vicksburg,  all  the  Confederates  of  that  section  and 
those  under  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  in  Mississippi 
would  be  hurled  against  him, 

Possibly  General  Rosecrans  did  not  know  that 
Bragg  had  dispatched  a  portion  of  his  force  to  rein 
force  Pemberton  ;  but  such  was  the  fact.  He  was  too 
late,  however,  for  Grant  had  already  executed  the  move 
ment  which  had  shut  Pemberton  into  Vicksburg,  — 
the  movement  which  had  more  genius  in  it  than  any 
other  in  all  his  successful  career,  —  that  of  sending  the 
steamboats  past  the  batteries  at  Vicksburg  by  night, 
protected  by  barges  piled  with  bales  of  hay ;  marching 
his  troops  down  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  cross 
ing  to  the  east  bank,  striking  eastward  to  Jackson,  de 
feating  Johnson,  taking  possession  of  the  town  of  Jack 
son,  turning  to  the  right-about,  marching  west,  closing 
in  on  Vicksburg,  opening  communication  with  his  fleet 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

above  the  town,  —  the  movement  ending  in  the  surren 
der  of  the  place,  opening  the  Mississippi  through  its 
entire  length. 

General  Bragg  occupied  a  strong  position,  but  Gen 
eral  Garfield  believed  that  he  could  be  moved  out  of 
it.  In  this  connection  we  are  to  behold  him  as  a 
strategist. 

There  are  two  railroads  leading  southward  from 
Nashville,  —  one,  the  Nashville  and  Chattanooga  run 
ning  southeast  through  Murfreesboro',  Wartrace,  Tulla- 
homa,  Dechard,  on  to  Stevenson,  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  Tennessee.  The  other  runs  southwest  through 
Columbia.  Both  of  these  roads  cross  Duck  River  ;  the 
first  near  Wartrace,  the  second  at  Columbia.  The  river 
is  a  small  stream  with  steep  banks,  has  its  rise 
just  east  of  Wartrace,  runs  west,  and  empties  into  the 
Tennessee. 

Ten  miles  west  of  Wartrace  is  Shelbyville,  the 
county  seat  of  Bedford,  connected  with  Wartrace  by  a 
railroad. 

Shelbyville  was  Bragg's  headquarters  and  the  center 
of  his  lines.  His  infantry  was  posted  along  the  rail 
way,  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  while  one  division 
of  cavalry  was  posted  at  McMinniville,  twenty-five 
miles  east  of  Wartrace  —  the  town  being  the  county 
seat  of  Warren.  Another  division  of  cavalry  was  at 
Columbia.  Bragg's  line  therefore  was  sixty  miles  long, 
with  his  two  wings  slightly  advanced. 

Duck  River  was  a  strong  natural  defense.  Twenty 
miles  farther  south  was  Elk  River,  another  natural 


TULLAHOMA    CAMPAIGN. 


I/I 


defense  ;  behind  that  were  the  Cumberland  Mountains. 
How  dislodge  him  ?  — that  was  the  question. 

From  4th  January  to  June  24th,  General  Rosecrans 
lay  at  Murfreesboro'.  Through  five  months  of  this  delay 
General  Garfield  was  with  him.  The  War  Department 
demanded  an  advance,  and,  when  spring  opened,  urged 
it  with  unusual  vehemence.  General  Rosecrans  de 
layed,  waiting  for  cavalry,  for  reinforcements,  for  Grant's 
movements  before  Vicksburg,  for  the  movements  of  the 
enemy,  for  the  opinion  of  his  generals.  The  Cliief  of 
Staff  at  first  approved  of  the  delays  till  the  army  should 
be  strengthened  and  massed  ;  but  long  before  the  de 
laying  officers  were  ready,  he  was  urging  movements 
with  all  his  power.  He  had  established  a  secret-ser 
vice  system,  then  perhaps  the  most  perfect  of  any  in 
the  Union  armies.  From  the  intelligence  it  furnished 
he  felt  sure  that  Bragg's  force  had  been  considerably 
reduced,  and  was  now  greatly  inferior  to  that  of  Rose 
crans.  As  he  subsequently  said,  he  refused  to  believe 
that  this  army,  which  defeated  a  superior  foe  at  Stone 
River,  could  not  now  move  upon  an  inferior  one,  with 
reasonable  prospects  of  success. 

Finally  General  Rosecrans  formally  asked  his  corps, 
division,  and  cavalry  generals  as  to  the  propriety  of 
a  movement.  With  singular  unanimity,  though  for 
diverse  reasons,  they  opposed  it.  Out  of  seventeen  gen 
erals  not  one  was  in  favor  of  an  immediate  advance,  and 
not  one  was  even  willing  to  put  himself  upon  the  rec 
ord  as  in  favor  of  an  early  advance. 

General  Garfield  collated  the  seventeen  letters  sent 
in  from  the  generals  in  reply  to  the  question  of  their 


.  GARFtELD. 

commander,  and  reported  their  substance,  coupled  with 
a  cogent  argument  against  them  and  in  favor  of  an  im 
mediate  movement.  This  report  we  venture  to  pio- 
nounce  the  ablest  military  document  known  to  have 
been  submitted  by  a  chief  of  staff  to  his  superior  dur 
ing  the  war.  General  Garfield  stood  absolutely  alone, 
every  general  commanding  troops  having,  as  we  have 
seen,  either  openly  opposed  or  failed  to  approve  an 
advance.  But  his  statements  were  so  clear  and  his 
arguments  so  forcible  that  he  carried  conviction.  As  an 
interesting  feature  in  the  history  of  a  notable  campaign, 
I  give  copious  extracts  from  this  remarkable  paper:  — 

"  HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND,) 
Murfreesbord ',  June  12,  1863.  > 

GENERAL  :  In  your  confidential  letter  of  the  8th 
inst.,  to  the  corps  and  division  commanders  and  gen 
erals  of  cavalry  of  this  army,  there  were  substantially 
five  questions  propounded  for  their  consideration  and 
answer,  viz.  : 

1.  Has  the  enemy  in  our  front  been  materially  weak 
ened  by  detachments  to  Johnston,  or  elsewhere? 

2.  Can  this  army  advance  on  him  at  this  time  with 
strong  reasonable  chances  of  fighting  a  great  and  suc 
cessful  battle  ? 

3.  Do  you  think  an  advance  of  our  army  at  present 
likely  to  prevent  additional  reinforcements  being  sent 
against  General  Grant  by  the  enemy  in  our  front  ? 

4.  Do  you  think  an  immediate  advance  of  this  army 
\  Jvisable  ? 

$.    Do  you  think  an  early  advance  advisable  ? 


TULLAHOMA    CAMPAIGN. 

Many  of  the  answers  to  these  questions  are  not  cate 
gorical,  and  cannot  be  clearly  set  down  as  affirmative 
or  negative.  Especially  in  answer  to  the  first  question 
there  is  much  indefmiteness,  resulting  in  the  difference 
of  judgment  as  to  how  great  a  detachment  could  be  a 
'  material  reduction '  of  Bragg's  strength.  For  exam 
ple  :  One  officer  thinks  it  has  been  reduced  ten  thou 
sand,  but  not  '  materially  weakened.' 

The  answers  to  the  second  question  are  modified  in 
some  instances  by  the  opinions  that  the  Rebels  will  fall 
back  behind  the  Tennessee  River,  and  thus  no  battle 
can  be  fought  successful  or  unsuccessful. 

So  far  as  these  opinions  can  be  stated  in  tabular 
form,  they  will  stand  thus : 

Yes.      No. 

Answer  to  first  question,  .         .         .  6     n 

Answer  to  second  question,  .         .         .  211 

Answer  to  third  question,  .         .         .  4     10 

Answer  to  fourth  question,  ...  15 

Answer  to  fifth  question  ...  2 

On  the  fifth  question,  three  gave  it  as  their  opinion 
that  this  army  ought  to  advance  as  soon  as  Vicksburg 
falls,  should  that  event  happen. 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  reasons  assigned 
why  we  should  not,  at  this  time,  advance  upon  the 
enemy  : 

i.  With  Hooker's  army  defeated,  and  Grant's  bend 
ing  all  its  energies  in  a  yet  undecided  struggle,  it  is 
bad  policy  to  risk  our  only  reserve  army  to  the  chances 
of  a  general  engagement.  A  failure  here  would  have 


rj74  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

most  disastrous  effects  on  our  lines  of  communication, 
and  on  politics  in  the  loyal  States. 

2.  We  should  be  compelled  to  fight  the  enemy  on 
his  own  ground,  or  follow  him  in  a  fruitless  stern  chase ; 
or  if  we  attempted  to  outflank  him  and  turn  his  posi 
tion,  we  should  expose  our  line  of  communication  and 
run  the  risk  of  being  pushed  back  into  a  country  well 
known  to  the  enemy  and  little  to  ourselves. 

3.  In  case  the  enemy  should  fall  back  without  ac 
cepting  battle,  he  could  make  our  advance  very  slow, 
and  with  a  comparatively  small   force  posted  in   the 
gaps  of  the  mountains  could  hold  us  back  while  he 
crossed  the  Tennessee  River,  where  he  would  be  meas 
urably  secure,  and  free  to  send  reinforcements  to  John 
ston.      His  forces  in  East  Tennessee  could   seriously 
harass  our  left  flank,  and  constantly  disturb  our  com 
munications. 

4.  The  withdrawal  of  Burnside's  Ninth  Army  Corps 
deprives  us  of    an   important  reserve  and  flank  pro 
tection,  thus  increasing  the  difficulty  of  an  advance. 

5.  General  Hurlburt  has  sent  the  most  of  his  forces 
away  to  General  Grant,  thus  leaving  West  Tennessee 
uncovered,  and  laying  our  right  flank  and  rear  open  to 
raids  of  the  enemy." 

The  following  incidental  opinions  are  expressed : 

"  i.  One  officer  thinks  it  probable  that  the  enemy 
has  been  strengthened  rather  than  weakened,  and  that 
he  (the  enemy)  would  have  a  reasonable  prospect  of 
victory  in  a  general  battle. 

2.  One  officer  believes  that  the  results  of  a  general 


TULLAHOMA    CAMPAIGN.  j«5 

battle  would  be  doubtful,  a  victory  barren,  and  a  defeat 
most  disastrous. 

3.  Three  officers  believe  that  an  advance  would  bring 
on   a   general   engagement.     Three  others    believe   it 
would  not. 

4.  Two  officers  express  the  opinion  that  the  chances 
of  success  in  general  are  nearly  equal. 

5.  One  officer  expresses   the   belief  that  our  arm} 
has  reached  its  maximum  strength  and  efficiency,  and 
that  inactivity  will  generally  impair  its  effectiveness. 

6.  Two  officers  say  that  an  increase  of  our  cavalry 
by  six  thousand    men   would    materially  change    the 
aspect  of  affairs,  and  give  us  a  decided  advantage." 

General  Garfield  then  gave  a  carefully  prepared  esti* 
mate  of  Bragg's  forces,  based  on  information  obtained 
by  his  secret-service  bureau.  He  maintained  that  it 
was  inferior  to  Rosecrans's  army,  and  brought  forward 
such  an  array  of  facts,  and  supported  them  by  such 
cogent  arguments,  that  Rosecrans  finally  became  con 
vinced  of  the  correctness  of  his  views. 

He  submitted  the  following  considerations  : 

"  *•  Bragg's  army  is  now  weaker  than  it  has  been 
since  the  battle  at  Stone  River,  or  is  likely  to  be  again 
for  the  present,  while  our  army  has  reached  its  maxi 
mum  strength,  and  we  have  no  right  to  expect  rein 
forcements  for  several  months,  if  at  all. 

2.  Whatever  be  the  result  at  Vicksburg,  the  deter 
mination  of  its  fate  will  give  large  reinforcements  to 
Bragg.  If  Grant  is  successful,  his  army  will  require 
many  weeks  to  recover  from  the  shock  and  strain  of 


JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

his  late  campaign,  while  Johnston  will  send  back  to 
Bragg  a  force  sufficient  to  insure  the  safety  of  Ten 
nessee.  If  Grant  fails,  the  same  result  will  inevitably 
follow,  so  far  as  Bragg's  army  is  concerned. 

3.  No  man  can  predict  with  certainty  the  result  of 
any  battle,   however  great  the  disparity  in  numbers. 
Such  results   are   in   the  hand  of  God.     But,  viewing 
the  question  in  the  light  of  human  calculation,  I  refuse 
to  entertain  a  doubt  that  this  army,  which  in  January 
last  defeated  Bragg's  superior  numbers,  cannot  over 
whelm  his  present  greatly  inferior  forces. 

4.  The  most  unfavorable  course  for  us  that  Bragg 
could  take  would  be  to  fall  back  without  giving  us  bat 
tle,  but  this  would  be  very  disastrous  to  him.     Besides 
the  loss  of  material  of  war,  and  the  abandonment  of 
the    rich   and    abundant   harvest    now    nearly  ripe  in 
Central  Tennessee,  he  would  lose  heavily  by  desertion. 
It  is  well  known  that  a  wide-spread  dissatisfaction  ex 
ists  among  his  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  troops.    They 
are   already  deserting   in   large   numbers.     A  retreat 
would  greatly  increase  both  the  desire  and  the  oppor 
tunity  for  desertion,  and  would  very  materially  reduce 
his    physical    and    moral    strength.       While    it    would 
lengthen  our  communications,  it  would  give  us  posses 
sion  of  McMinniville,  and  enable  us  to  threaten  Chat 
tanooga  and  East  Tennessee  ;  and  it  would  not  be  un 
reasonable  to  expect  an  early  occupation  of  the  former 
place. 

5.  But  the  chances  are  more  than  even  that  a  sud 
den  and   rapid    movement   would   compel    i.  genera) 


TULLAHOMA    CAMPAIGN.  177 

engagement,  and  the  defeat  of  Bragg  would  be  in  the 
highest  degree  disastrous  to  the  rebellion. 

6.  The  turbulent  aspects  of  politics  in  the  loyal  States 
renders  a  decisive  blow  against  the  enemy  at  this  time 
of  the  highest  importance  to  the  success  of  the  Gov 
ernment  at   the  polls,  and  in  the  enforcement  of  the 
Conscription  Act. 

7.  The  Government  and  War  Department  believe  that 
this  army  ought  to  move  upon  the  enemy ;    the  army 
desires  it,  and  the  country  is  anxiously  hoping  for  it. 

8.  Our  true  objective  point  is  the  Rebel  army,  whose 
last  reserves  are  substantially  in  the  field,  and  an  effec 
tive  blow  will  crush  the  shell,  and  soon  be  followed  by 
the  collapse  of  the  Rebel  government. 

9.  You  have,  in  my  judgment,  wisely  delayed  a  gen 
eral  movement  hitherto,  till  your  army  could  be  massed 
and  your  cavalry  could  be   mounted.      Your   mobile 
force  can   now  be  concentrated  in  twenty-four  hours, 
and  your  cavalry,  if  not  equal  in  numerical  strength  to 
that  of  the  enemy,  is  greatly  superior  in  efficiency  and 
morals. 

For  these  reasons  I  believe  an  immediate  advance 
of  all  our  available  forces  is  advisable,  and  under  the 
providence  of  God  will  be  successful." 

Twelve  days  after  the  reception  of  this  report  the 
army  moved,  to  the  great  dissatisfaction  of  the  leading 
generals.  One  of  the  three  corps  commanders,  Major- 
General  Thomas  L.  Crittenden,  approached  the  Chief 
of  Staff  at  the  headquarters  on  the  morning  of  ad 
vance. 

13 


r^3  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

"  It  is  understood,  sir,"  he  said,  "  by  the  general  offi 
cers  of  the  army,  that  this  movement  is  your  work.  I 
wish  you  to  understand  that  it  is  a  rash  and  fatal  move, 
for  which  you  will  be  held  responsible." 

This  "  rash  and  fatal  move  "  was  the  Tullahoma  cam 
paign  ;  a  campaign  perfect  in  its  conception,  excellent 
in  its  general  execution,  and  only  hindered  from  result 
ing  in  the  complete  destruction  of  the  opposing  army 
by  the  delays  which  had  too  long  postponed  its  com 
mencement.  It  might  even  yet  have  destroyed  Bragg, 
but  for  the  terrible  season  of  rain  which  set  in  on  the 
morning  of  advance,  and  continued  uninterruptedly  for 
the  greater  part  of  a  month.  With  a  week's  earlier 
start  it  would  have  ended  the  career  of  Bragg's  army 
in  the  war. 

On  June  23d  General  Granger's  corps  and  a  part  of 
General  Thomas's  men  started  southeast,  and  on  the 
following  morning  the  entire  force,  except  the  garrison 
left  to  hold  Murfreesboro',  marched  in  the  same  direc 
tion. 

Instead  of  striking  for  McMinniville,  General  Thomas 
marched  down  the  Manchester  turnpike.  The  cavalry 
and  infantry  in  advance  encountered  the  Confederate 
outposts  and  drove  them. 

General  Garfield  believed  that  under  cover  of  a  feint 
of  attacking  at  Shelbyville,  by  one  or  two  divisions, 
the  army  might  sweep  round  to  the  left,  drive  in  the 
cavalry  at  McMinniville,  or  separate  it  from  the  cen 
ter,  turn  Bragg's  right  flank,  and  force  him  to  retreat, 
or  else  accept  battle  on  ground  of  Rosecrans's  choos- 


TULLAHOMA    CAMPAIGN.  jSi 

ing.  The  movement  would  threaten  his  communication 
with  Chattanooga.  He  must  fight  or  retreat. 

The  outline  of  operations  as  given  by  Garfield  was 
accepted  ;  a  division  of  cavalry  taking  possession  of 
the  gap  in  the  hills.  In  one  engagement  General  John 
son's  division  of  Bragg's  army  lost  two  hundred  and 
thirty-one  killed  and  wounded. 

General  Bragg  seems  not  to  have  understood  the 
meaning  of  the  movement  till  Rosecrans  was  abreast 
of  Wartrace,  nearly  east  of  that  place,  having  not  only 
turned  his  flank,  but  having  crossed  Duck  River,  which 
was  but  a  rivulet  on  Rosecrans's  line  of  march. 

While  Rosecrans  was  moving  on  Manchester  and 
Dechard  with  the  main  body  of  the  army,  the  force 
which  had  been  detailed  to  make  the  feint  at  Shelby- 
ville  was  vigorously  at  work. 

Bragg  having  discovered  the  meaning  of  the  move 
ment,  began  to  move  southeast  to  counteract  it  ;  but 
he  was  too  late,  and  there  was  the  spectacle  of  both 
armies  marching  south  on  nearly  parallel  lines.  Bragg 
along  the  railway  to  Dechard  ;  Rosecrans  farther  east. 

The  Union  cavalry  under  Mitchell  and  the  brigades 
of  infantry  under  Colonel  Minty,  boldly  attacked  the 
Confederate  troops  under  Wheeler,  whom  Bragg  had 
detailed  to  hold  Shelbyville,  pushing  on  with  such  im 
petuosity  that  the  Confederates  suffered  a  total  defeat, 
losing  more  than  five  hundred  men,  several  pieces  of 
artillery,  and  a  large  amount  of  supplies. 

From  McMinniville,  Wilder's  brigade  was  sent  to  tear 
up  the  railroad  north  of  Dechard.  The  troops  started 
in  the  early  morning,  struck  the  railroad  at  eight  in  the 


JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

evening,  tore  up  one  thousand  feet  of  the  track,  and 
burned  the  rest,  but  were  obliged  to  fall  back  before  a 
superior  force,  avoiding  a  division  of  Rebel  cavalry,  re 
joining  the  main  body,  which  all  the  while  was  advanc 
ing,  reaching  Manchester  at  noon,  June  3Oth. 

"  Bragg  has  fled,".said  a  farmer  to  General  Rosecrans 
as  his  army  advanced  to  within  two  miles  of  Tulla- 
homa  on  the  morning  of  June  5<Dth. 

The  army  pressed  on,  overtaking  Bragg's  rear-guard, 
pressing  it  all  the  way  southward  to  the  Tennessee. 

It  was  a  nine  days'  campaign,  in  which  Rosecrans 
had  lost  85  killed,  413  wounded,  and  13  captured. 
!Bragg's  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  was  far  greater, 
50  being  officers;  1575  prisoners  were  captured,  to 
gether  with  8  field-pieces,  and  3  rifled  siege-guns,  be 
side  a  vast  amount  of  material  abandoned  in  the  retreat. 

Bragg  had  been  forced  south  of  the  Tennessee  ;  and 
with  the  movement  of  Burnside  to  East  Knoxville,  the 
State  of  Tennessee  was  brought  once  more  under  the 
dominion  of  the  old  flag. 

It  was  the  genius  of  James  A.  Garfield  that  had 
brought  it  about  ;  the  courage  to  set  forth  his  own  con 
victions  in  opposition  to  every  other  commander  ;  and 
his  persuasive  power  over  his  commander-in-chief.  He 
planned  the  campaign,  and  aided  in  carrying  it  out. 


TO   CHICKAMAUGA. 


XVII. 

TO  CHICKAMAUGA. 

THE  Tennessee  River,  flowing  from  the  east  for  a 
long  distance,  has  a  general  southwestern  course. 
The  village  of  Chattanooga,  on  its  southern  bank,  in 
1863  contained  about  fifteen  hundred  inhabitants.  It 
is  situated  in  a  mountain  gate-way.  Lookout  Moun 
tain,  a  long  ridge  lying  parallel  to  the  river,  rising 
twenty-four  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
presents  on  its  northern  face  an  almost  perpendicular 
bluff.  Its  eastern  and  western  sides  are  more  sloping 
and  partially  wooded.  , 

Between  Lookout  and  the  Tennessee  is  a  lower 
ridge,  the  northern  portion  of  which  is  called  Raccoon 
Mountain,  and  the  southern  portion  Sand  Mountain. 
Eastward  of  Lookout  is  Missionary  Ridge,  an  ele 
vation  much  lower  than  Lookout.  It  is  about  twenty- 
five  miles  long,  and  West  Chickamauga  Creek  flows 
along  its  eastern  base,  and  empties  into  the  Tennessee 
at  Chattanooga.  East  of  the  creek  is  still  another 
ridge  called  Pigeon  Mountain. 

The  railroad  from  Chattanooga  to  Atlanta  runs  due 
cast  from  Chattanooga  almost  five  miles,  bends  south 
west,  crosses  the  Georgia  line  just  above  the  town  oi 


1 84  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

Ringold,.and  then  runs  on  to  Dalton,  where  it  forms  a 
junction  with  the  railroad  coming  down  from  Knox- 
ville,  Eastern  Tennessee. 

The  whole  country  is  one  of  long  mountain  ranges 
lying  parallel  to  each  other,  with  streams  flowing  north 
ward  to  the  Tennessee  and  southward  to  the  Coosa, 
which  empties  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

The  movement  of  Rosecrans  upon  Tullahoma  had 
forced  Bragg  across  the  Tennessee.  He  held  Chatta 
nooga,  and  his  army  was  posted  along  the  southern 
bank  of  the  stream,  holding  every  important  position 
for  a  long  distance."  It  was  of  the  utmost  importance 
to  the  Confederacy  to  prevent  the  Union  army  from 
crossing  the  stream  and  moving  up  the  Chickamauga 
valley,  or  advancing  by  any  other  route  to  central 
Georgia  and  Alabama,  from  which  the  Confederates 
were  receiving  their  supplies. 

General  Burnside  had  moved  into  Eastern  Tennes 
see,  and  was  in  possession  of  Knoxville.  Bragg  could 
therefore  have  no  communication  with  Lee  in  Virginia 
by  that  route,  but  only  through  Georgia.  Rosecrans's 
front  from  East  Tennessee  extended  west  far  beyond 
Chattanooga,  making  a  line  of  positions  fully  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  miles  long.  The  problem  before  him 
was  a  movement  which  should  compel  Bragg  to  retire 
from  Chattanooga.  How  could  that  be  done  ?  Cer 
tainly  not  by  attempting  to  cross  the  Tennessee  at 
Chattanooga,  with  all  of  Bragg's  cannon  ready  to  hurl  a 
storm  of  shot,  shell,  and  canister  upon  the  engineer 
corps  if  they  attempted  to  lay  their  pontoons. 

To  General  Garfield  was  assigned  the  task  of  devising 


TO   CHICKAMAUGA.  jgj 

a  movement  which  would  compel  Bragg  to  evacuate 
Chattanooga.  Rosecrans  did  not  wish  to  fight  a  battle 
except  upon  grounds  of  his  own  choosing.  It  may 
seem  an  easy  matter  to  plan  a  campaign,  but  he  who 
undertakes  must  study  all  the  factors  in  the  problem,  — 
by  what  routes  the  army  can  march  ;  what  obstacles  it 
will  encounter,  of  rivers,  mountains,  forests  ;  how  fast 
it  can  move,  how  it  can  subsist,  how  it  can  be  concen 
trated  ;  what  the  probable  movements  of  the  enemy  will 
be,  which  routes  it  will  take,  where  it  will  make  a  stand, 
whether  it  can  be  reinforced.  It  is  a  problem  of  vast 
proportions. 

General  Garfield  saw  that  the  only  movement  which 
could  be  made  would  be  by  the  right  flank  crossing  the 
Tennessee,  Raccoon  and  Sand  Mountains,  Lookout 
Range,  gain  the  valley  of  the  Coosa,  and  threaten  Bragg's 
communications  with  Atlanta.  This  would  involve  on 
the  part  of  Rosecrans  a  cutting  loose  from  his  base  of 
supplies,  the  crossing  of  the  mountain  by  gaps  wide 
apart  separating  his  corps,  hazarding  an  attack  upon 
one  of  the  three  by  Bragg's  whole  force,  and  its  possi 
ble  annihilation  before  either  of  the  others  could  join  it. 

Bragg's  army  numbered  fifty-nine  thousand ;  Rose- 
crans's,  after  deducting  those  necessary  to  guard  the 
railroad  and  his  supplies,  was  several  thousand  less. 
Could  Rosecrans  hope  to  make  such  a  movement  and 
concentrate  his  force  before  being  overwhelmed  in  de 
tail  by  Bragg  ?  What  could  Bragg  do  ?  Generals 
must  see  what  the  enemy  will  be  likely  to  do.  Would 
not  such  a  movement  threatening  Bragg's  communica 
tions  with  Atlanta  compel  him  to  retreat  ? 


1 86  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

General  Halleck,  sitting  at  his  desk  in  the  War  De 
partment  at  Washington,  was  telegraphing  Rosecrans 
to  move  at  once  upon  Bragg.  Early  in  August  Hal 
leck  had  issued  peremptory  orders  for  him  to  move. 
On  August  5,  Halleck  sent  this  despatch  :  "  The  orders 
for  the  advance  of  your  army  are  peremptory." 

There  was  nothing  for  Rosecrans  to  do  but  to  move 
on.  Subordinates  must  obey  orders.  Halleck  had  set 
it  down  that  Bragg  would  at  once  retreat  from  Chatta 
nooga  and  fall  back  toward  Atlanta.  He  even  thought 
it  possible  that  Bragg  was  depleting  his  army  by  send 
ing  troops  to  Lee  in  Virginia.  On  August  1 1,  Halleck 
asked  Rosecrans  to  ascertain,  if  Bragg  was  sending 
troops  to  Virginia. 

Rosecrans  having  moved  Bragg  out  of  Tullahoma  by 
following  the  plan  laid  before  him  by  General  Garfield, 
thought  that  Bragg  would  retreat.  In  this  he  and 
Halleck  agreed,  and  the  idea  was  so  firmly  fixed  in  his 
mind  that  it  could  only  be  changed  by  the  stern  logic 
of  events. 

General  Garfield  perfected  his  plans.  The  army 
was  to  cross  the  river  at  different  points  below  Chatta 
nooga.  Crittenden's  corps,  after  crossing,  was  to  advance 
up  the  southern  bank  of  the  river  upon  Chattanooga, 
while  Thomas  and  McCook  were  to  cross  Raccoon  and 
Sand  ridges  by  different  routes,  descend  into  Look 
out  Valley,  climb  Lookout  Ridge,  pass  through  gaps, 
and  descend  the  other  side,  —  Thomas  upon  the  little 
town  of  Lafayette,  and  McCook  upon  Summerville, 
twenty  miles  farther  south.  Bragg  probably  would  re 
treat.  Crittenden  would  take  possession  of  Chatta- 


TO   CI11CKAMAUGA.  187 

nooga  and  move  down  and  join  them.  The  gap 
through  which  Thomas  would  cross  Lookout  Ridge 
was  twenty-six  miles  south  of  Chattanooga,  while  the 
gap  which  McCook  would  utilize  was  twenty-five  miles 
south  of  Thomas,  thus  making  it  fifty-two  miles  from 
Crittenden  to  McCook.  Everything  was  ready. 

On  August  21  the  whole  army  was  across  the  Cum 
berland  mountains  and  on  the  bank  of  the  Tennessee, 
but  it  was  stretched  out  more  than  one  hundred  miles. 
Preparations  were  made  for  crossing.  The  pontoons 
were  brought  forward,  timber  prepared  and  materials 
obtained  for  the  construction  of  two  bridges.  This 
was  done  with  great  secrecy,  for  Bragg's  signal  corps 
on  the  summit  of  Lookout  with  their  field-glasses 
could  see  every  movement  in  Rosecrans's  army  for  a 
long  distance. 

The  crossing  began  on  the  29th,  and  by  the  4th  of 
September  all  were  across  except  the  troops  left  to 
guard  the  railroad,  until  relieved  by  General  Gordon, 
Granger's  reserve  corps. 

The  crossing  was  made  at  three  points  —  Shell 
Mount,  twenty-five  miles  below  Chattanooga  ;  Bridge 
port,  ten  miles  farther  down  ;  and  Caperton's  Ferry, 
opposite  Stevenson,  ten  miles  farther. 

Crittenden  turned  northeast  and  began  to  move  up 
the  river  Thomas  crossed  Raccoon  Mountain  to  the 
little  village  of  Trenton,  in  Lookout  Valley,  turned 
south  ten  miles,  then  east,  climbed  Lookout  Ridge 
through  Stevens'  and  Cooper's  Gap. 

McCook  with  Stanley's  Division  crossed  at  Caperton's 
Ferry,  marched  southeast,  crossed  Sand  Mountain, 


j88  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

and  descended  into  Lookout  Valley,  climbed  Lookout 
Ridge,  heading  directly  for  Summerville,  which  is  near 
ly  sixty  miles  south  of  Chattanooga. 

While  Rosecrans's  troops  are  on  the  march,  let  us  step 
into  Chattanooga  and  see  what  Bragg  is  doing.  He 
knows  every  movement  of  Rosecrans,  sees  him  sepa 
rating  his  corps. 

Instead  of  retreating  toward  Atlanta,  in  accordance 
with  Halleck's  and  Rosecrans's  reasoning,  Bragg  with 
draws  all  his  troops  from  Chattanooga  except  one  bri 
gade,  marches  south  about  thirty  miles,  and  takes  posi 
tion,  facing  west,  toward  Lookout  Ridge. 

General  Bragg  thus  writes  of  his  movements : 

"  On  the  Qth  of  September  it  was  ascertained  that  a 
column,  estimated  at  from  four  to  eight  thousand,  had 
crossed  Lookout  Mountain  by  way  of  Stevens'  and 
Cooper's  Gap.  Thrown  off  his  guard  by  our  rapid 
movements,  —  apparently  in  retreat,  when  in  reality  we 
had  concentrated  opposite  his  center,  and  deceived  by 
the  information  from  deserters  and  others  sent  into  his 
lines,  —  the  enemy  pressed  on  his  columns  to  intercept 
us,  and  thus  exposed  himself  in  detail." 

Bragg  has  asked  for  reinforcements.  Lee  is  send 
ing  Longstreet's  veteran  corps,  which  has  been  in  all 
the  fights  around  Richmond,  Manassas,  Chancellor- 
ville,  and  Gettysburg.  Buckner's  command  from  east 
ern  Tennessee  is  ordered  to  join  him.  Joseph  E.  John 
ston  dispatches  some  of  his  troops  from  Mississippi, 
and  there  are  militia  regiments  from  Georgia. 

Bragg  outnumbers  Rosecrans  by  several  thousand. 
He  is  concentrated,  while  Rosecrans  is  divided.  Bragg 


TO    CHICKAMAUGA. 

is  close  to  his  supplies,  while  Rosecrans  is  moving  away 
from  his. 

The  movement  of  Rosecrans  had  compelled  Bragg 
to  withdraw  nearly  all  his  troops  from  Chattanooga. 
Wilder's  brigade  of  mounted  infantry  appeared  upon 
the  northern  bank,  opened  fire  from  a  battery  of  light 
artillery,  drove  Bragg's  force  out ;  and  Crittenden 
marched  in,  pushed  out  over  Missionary  Ridge  to  Lee 
and  Gordon's  Mill,  on  West  Chickamauga  Creek,  fif 
teen  miles,  bringing  him  that  much  nearer  to  Thomas. 

From  Rossville,  situated  near  the  northern  end  of 
Missionary  Ridge,  ten  miles  from  C  chick  am  auga,  two 
roads  run  south,  — one,  the  Dry  Valley  road,  along  the 
western  slope  of  the  ridges,  and  the  other  the  Lafay 
ette  road  along  the  east  side.  Ten  miles  due  south 
from  Rossville,  the  Lafayette  road  crosses  Chicka 
mauga  Creek  at  Lee  and  Gordon's  Mill.  The  road 
after  crossing  the  creek  keeps  straight  on  to  Lafay 
ette,  fifteen  miles  distant. 

There  are  several  roads  leading  eastward  from  Mis 
sionary  Ridge  to  bridges  and  fords  across  the  Chicka 
mauga,  so  that  Bragg  could  move  his  troops  rapidly 
from  Chattanooga  across  the  creek  to  positions  between 
the  mill  and  Lafayette,  or  back  again,  when  the  proper 
time  came. 

While  Rosecrans  was  moving  across  the  mountains, 
General  Burn  side  with  a  large  force  was  taking  posses 
sion  of  Knoxville,  driving  out  Buckner,  who  retreated 
to  join  Bragg.  If  Burnside  had  pushed  on,  if  Halleck 
had  ordered  him  to  hasten  to  Chattanooga,  he  would 
have  brought  twenty  thousand  men  to  Rosecrans,  but 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

he  was  not  so  ordered  till  it  was  too  late.  Halleck  had 
made  several  mistakes,  one  in  ordering  Rosecrans  per 
emptorily  to  move  on,  another  in  maintaining  that  Bragg 
was  in  full  retreat ;  a  third  in  concluding  that  Bragg  was 
sending  men  to  the  aid  of  Lee,  while  on  the  contrary 
Lee  was  sending  Longstreet  to  Bragg ;  and  now  he 
made  a  fourth  in  not  ordering  Burnside  to  hasten  after 
Buckner  and  join  Rosecrans. 

The  features  of  the  country  are  such  that  by  the 
time  the  last  division  of  Rosecrans  was  across  the  Ten 
nessee,  the  foremost  was  far  on  its  way  over  Lookout 
Valley  and  on  Lookout  Mountain. 

On  the  9th  of  September,  Crittenden  took  posses 
sion  of  Chattanooga. 

"  It  is  ours  without  a  struggle,"  was  the  despatch 
sent  by  Rosecrans  to  Halleck. 

Ah  !  he  did  not  know  that  almost  at  that  moment 
Bragg  was  issuing  orders  to  two  of  his  division  com 
manders  to  move  on  Negley's  division  of  Thomas's 
corps  which  was  descending  the  east  side  of  Lookout 
Ridge  from  Stevens'  Gap,  that  Cleburne  and  Hindman 
together  outnumbered  Negley  two  to  one. 

Negley  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  ridge  with  five 
thousand  men.  His  nearest  support  Baird's  division 
of  six  thousand,  four  miles  distant  ;  while  the  other  two 
divisions  of  Thomas's  corps  are  on  the  west  side  of 
Lookout,  at  Trenton. 

Bragg,  to  make  all  sure,  ordered  up  Cheatham's  and 
Walker's  divisions  to  support  Hindman  and  Cleburne, 
making  twenty-five  thousand,  with  a  large  force  of  cav- 


TO   CHICKAMAUGA.  igi 

airy  in  addition,  to  fall  upon  Negley  and  Baird  with 
only  eleven  thousand. 

Rosecrans  was  in  utter  ignorance  of  the  state  of 
affairs.  Bragg's  spies  sent  in  purposely  had  done  their 
work  well. 

"All  the  information  I  have  received,"  wrote  Rose 
crans  to  Thomas  on  the  evening  of  the  Qth,  "  induces 
the  belief  that  there  is  no  considerable  Rebel  force  this 
side  of  Dalton." 

General  Negley's  scouts  had  a  different  tale  to  tell, 
—  so  different,  that  that  officer,  with  wise  precaution, 
started  his  train  back  toward  Baird's  position,  and 
moved  his  troops  in  the  same  direction  two  miles. 

Bragg  ordered  Hindman  to  begin  the  attack  early 
in  the  morning.  Cleburne  was  to  advance  as  soon  as 
he  heard  Bondman's  guns.  The  morning  came  and 
passed,  none  of  Hindman's  cannon  were  thundering  ; 
forenoon  passed,  st&l  no  artillery.  Courier  after  courier 
was  sent  to  know  the  reason  of  the  silence.  Not  till 
three  o'clock  was  Hindman  ready  to  advance. 

It  is  not  known  why  Hindman  was  not  ready. 
Bragg  does  not  inform  us  in  his  report  ;  but  at  three 
o'clock  Hindman's  guns  began  to  play,  and  Cleburne 
advanced. 

Two  companies  of  the  iQth  Illinois  Infantry  were 
behind  a  wall  biding  their  time.  Cleburne's  line  was 
coming  on.  Suddenly  the  stone  wall  was  all  aflame, 
and  thirty  of  Cleburne's  men  went  down.  The  next 
moment  two  of  Negley's  guns  on  a  hill  in  the  rear,  be 
gan  to  hurl  shells  into  the  advancing  column,  which 
came  to  a  stand-still.  The  golden  moment  had  slipped 


!Q2  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

away.  Negley  and  Baird  could  not  be  successfully 
assailed,  and  Cleburne  withdrew  his  troops.  He  had 
failed  in  his  design. 

What  next  should  Bragg  do  ?  He  resolved  to  leave 
Thomas  and  McCook,  recross  Pigeon  Mountain  at 
Lafayette,  turn  north,  and  annihilate  Crittenden  before 
Thomas  and  Crittenden  could  join  their  forces.  Then 
he  would  attend  to  McCook.  Major-General  Polk,  who 
had  laid  aside  a  bishop's  gown  to  wear  the  stars  of  a 
major-general,  had  command  of  Bragg's  right.  He  was 
only  three  miles  east  of  Lee  and  Gordon's  Mills,  and 
opposite  a  part  of  Crittenden's  corps  which  had  ad 
vanced  to  that  point. 

"  You  have  a  fine  opportunity  of  crushing  Crittenden 
in  detail,  and  I  hope  you  will  avail  yourself  of  it  to 
morrow  morning,"  was  Bragg's  message  to  Polk,  at  6 
p.  M.  September  12. 

"  Attack  at  daylight,"  said  Bragg's  second  despatch. 

The  morning  of  the  I3th  dawned.  Bragg  rode  in 
haste  northward  from  Lafayette  to  see  Polk  crush  first 
one,  and  then  another  of  Crittenden's  divisions,  which 
were  then  three  miles  apart,  when,  lo  and  behold  !  Ma 
jor-General  Polk  was  quietly  eating  his  breakfast,  and 
his  troops  were  showing  no  sign  of  advancing!  Gen 
eral  Bragg  made  use  of  many  words,  which  were  more 
forcible  than  elegant. 

Another  golden  opportunity  had  slipped  through 
Bragg's  fingers  by  no  fault  of  his  own.  How  shall  we 
account  for  it  ?  Was  it  that  a  Divine  hand  was  direct 
ing  affairs  ?  General  Rosecrans  saw  that  himself,  and 
Halleck  had  been  mistaken  in  the  supposition  of  what 


TO    CHICKAMAUGA. 


193 


Bragg  would  do.  He  began  to  see  that  all  the  pleasant 
stories  told  him  by  men  who  had  come  into  his  camp, 
informing  him  of  Bragg's  retreat,  were  lies.  Bragg, 
instead  of  retreating,  was  preparing  to  cut  him  up 
piecemeal.  Now  was  the  time  for  action. 

General  Garfield  instantly  comprehended  the  situa 
tion  of  affairs.  The  army  must  be  concentrated.  There 
must  be  quick  marching.  Crittenden  was  at  Lee  and 
Gordon's  Mill,  McCook  was  fifty  miles  south  of  him, 
and  Thomas  twenty-five  miles  from  Crittenden,  who 
must  hold  the  roads  leading  across  Missionary  Ridge 
to  Chattanooga  till  Thomas  and  McCook  could  join 
him. 

The  salvation  of  the  army  depended  upon  the  carry 
ing  out  of  this  plan.  Couriers  rode  at  break-neck 
speed,  carrying  orders.  Bragg  was  hastening  his  troops 
north.  Bragg  had  the  shortest  distance  to  march,  but 
he  must  cross  Pigeon  Mountain,  cross  Chickamauga 
Creek,  and  seize  the  roads  in  the  rear  of  Crittenden, 
which  would  compel  Rosecrans  to  fight  on  ground  of 
Bragg's  choosing.  It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  I3tli 
that  he  abandoned  his  effort  to  annihilate  Negley.  On 
that  day  he  decided  to  move  north. 

"  Go  over  the  Pigeon  Mountain,  and  make  a  demon 
stration  against  the  Union  left,"  were  Bragg's  orders  to 
Wheeler's  cavalry.  At  the  same  time  he  ordered 
Forrest  to  proceed  north  and  threaten  Crittenden's 
connections  with  Chattanooga.  He  had  decided  under 
cover  of  these  demonstrations  to  move  his  army  north, 
cross  Chickamauga,  and  get  possession  of  Missionary 
Ridge.  He  decided  to  go,  but  did  not  start.  For  four 
13 


JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

days  he  remained  inactive  !  Why  ?  Possibly  for  this 
reason  :  Longstreet  was  on  his  way,  and  he  would 
wait.  The  golden  thread  dropped  from  his  grasp  once 
more.  Well  for  our  country  that  it  was  so,  for,  had  he 
moved  on  the  I3th,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
Rosecrans's  army  would  have  been  swept  from  the  face 
of  the  earth  —  cut  up,  a  division  at  a  time.  He  did 
not  move  till  the  night  of  the  i/th,  and  all  through 
those  hours,  Thomas  and  McCook  were  marching. 

Who  can  measure  the  value  to  the  country,  of  thai 
unaccountable  delay  of  Bragg  ?  Not  till  Rosecrans's 
three  corps  were  almost  in  supporting  distance  of  each 
other,  did  Bragg  give  the  order  to  advance. 

There  are  several  roads  leading  eastward  from  the 
Lafayette  road  along  the  east  side  of  Missionary  Ridge 
to  fords  and  bridges  across  the  creek.  The  first  ford 
north  of  Lee's  mill,  a  mile  distant,  is  called  Dalton's  ; 
a  half  mile  farther  is  Smith's  ;  a  half  mile  beyond  that 
is  Alexander's  bridge  ;  a  little  farther  is  another  ford  ; 
beyond  that  is  Reed's  bridge  ;  and  beyond  that  is 
Dyer's  bridge.  The  distance  in  a  straight  line  from 
the  mill  to  Dyer's  bridge  is  about  five  miles.  On  the 
Dry-Gulf  road,  leading  along  the  west  side  of  Mission 
ary  Ridge,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  mill,  is  the 
house  of  Wisdom  Glen,  where  Rosecrans  established 
his  headquarters. 


FIRST  DAT  AT  CHICKAMAUGA.  195 


XVIII. 

FIRST   DAY   AT   CHICKAMAUGA. 

THUS  far  we  have  been  dealing  with  movements. 
We  come  to  the  morning  of  the  igth  of  Septem 
ber.  Bragg  has  a  well-defined  plan  to  cross  the  Chick- 
amauga  at  the  different  bridges  and  fords,  move 
rapidly  by  his  right  flank,  seize  the  road  leading  from 
Rossville  to  Lafayette,  push  across  Missionary  Ridge 
to  Rossville,  cutting  off  Rosecrans  from  Chattanooga. 
Having  done  that,  he  will  close  in  upon  the  Union 
troops  and  overwhelm  them  by  his  superior  numbers. 

Rosecrans  has  made  his  movements  over  Lookout 
Ridge  lo  compel  Bragg  to  evacuate  Chattanooga,  and 
he  has  succeeded.  Crittenden  holds  it.  Rosecrans 
does  not  wish  to  fight  a  superior  force,  but  sees  that  a 
battle  is  inevitable.  If  he  can  meet  Bragg  and  hold  on 
to  Chattanooga,  even  though  he  may  be  compelled  to 
fall  back  from  Missionary  Ridge,  he  will  have  attained 
the  primary  object  of,  the  campaign.  If  Bragg  does 
not  drive  Rosecrans  out  of  Chattanooga  and  across  the 
Tennessee,  his  attack  will  be  a  failure,  even  though  he 
may  drive  Rosecrans  from  Missionary  Ridge. 

Rosecrans  and  his  chief  of  staff  General  Garfield, 


ig6  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

though  neither  of  them  had  ever  been  to  Rossville 
or  up  the  Lafayette  road,  saw  the  necessity  of  holding 
that  highway.  They  fully  comprehended  the  move 
which  Bragg  was  making,  or  saw  rather  what  he  would 
be  likely  to  do. 

Fortunate  the  selection  of  troops  ;  fortunate  the  se 
lection  of  a  commander  to  hold  the  right  —  George  H. 
Thomas,  the  imperturbable,  well-poised,  clear-headed, 
self-reliant  general,  who  had  won  the  battle  of  Mill 
Springs,  who  at  Pittsburg  Landing  on  the  second  day, 
and  at  Stone  River,  had  shown  sterling  qualities  as  a 
general,  greatly  beloved  by  his  troops  for  his  strict, 
firm  discipline;  not  that  of  a  martinet,  but  of  a  judi 
cious  commander,  who  had  only  the  welfare  of  his  men 
in  view.  "  Papa  Thomas "  they  called  him.  They 
would  do  anything  for  him. 

The  enthusiasm  which  he  had  inspired  in  them  was 
not  that  which  manifests  itself  in  hurrahs,  the  swing 
ing  of  caps,  but  it  was  the  holding-on  quality,  endur 
ance,  pluck,  the  never-giving-in  determination  which 
transforms  a  Line  of  men  into  a  wall  of  adamant ! 

The  1 8th  was  a  day  of  great  anxiety  to  Rosecrans 
and  Garfield.  They  could  see  clouds  of  dust  east  of 
the  creek  extending  far  to  the  north  ;  but  not  till  the 
head  of  McCook's  column  reached  Crawfish  Spring, 
a  mile  and  a  half  south  of  Lee  &  Gordon's  mill,  did 
Rosecrans  dare  to  put  Thomas  in  motion  toward  Ross 
ville,  along  the  Lafayette  road. 

All  night  long  Thomas's  men  were  on  the  march  past 
Rosecrans's  headquarters  at  widow  Glenn's  house. 
When  daylight  dawned  on  the  morning  of  the 


DAT  AT   CHICKAMAUGA. 

Thomas  was  wheeling  into  position  east  of  Kelley's 
house,  his  troops  facing  eastward. 

The  men  threw  themselves  on  the  ground,  ate  their 
hardtack  and  cold  meat,  and  drank  their  coffee.  Long 
and  wearisome  had  been  the  rapid  marchings.  They 
had  been  on  a  race  with  Bragg,  and  had  distanced  him. 

They  were  planted  on  the  spot  which  he  had  hoped 
to  secure,  and  to  obtain  it  now  he  must  fight  for  it. 

At  sunrise  then  on  the  morning  of  the  igth,  Rose- 
crans's  infantry  are  extended  from  Crawfish  Spring  on 
the  right  to  Kelley's  farm  on  the  left,  with  the  cavalry 
beyond,  holding  the  road  leading  from  Dyer's  bridge  to 
Rossville. 

Rosecrans's  cavalry  had  been  doing  great  service  dur 
ing  the  night.  At  every  bridge  and  ford  across  the 
Chickamauga  they  had  confronted  Bragg's  divisions, 
holding  them  in  check.  "  The  resistance,"  says  Bragg 
in  his  report,  l<  offered  by  the  enemy's  cavalry,  and  the 
difficulties  arising  from  the  bad  and  narrow  country 
roads,  caused  unexpected  delays." 

When  General  Walker's  division  of  Bragg's  army 
reached  Alexander's  bridge,  they  found  Wilder's  mount 
ed  infantry  on  the  opposite  bank.  Wilder  set  his  light 
artillery  to  work,  and  threw  such  a  shower  of  shells 
across  the  stream  that  Walker's  troops  recoiled  ;  and 
under  cover  of  the  fire  of  the  small  arms,  a  squad  of 
Wilder  s  command  rushed  down  to  the  bridge  and  set 
it  on  fire,  compelling  Walker  to  retrace  his  steps  and 
cross  at  one  of  the  fords. 

From  daylight  till  nine  o'clock,  Thomas's  wearied  men 
had  a  chance  to  rest,  but  at  that  hour  the  turmoil  of 
battle  began. 


igS  JAM£S  A.    GAP  PI  ELD, 

Bragg'*  troops  were  getting  into  position  with  For 
rest's  cavalry  in  advance,  Walker's  division  following. 

General  Thomas  sent  Croxton's  brigade  of  Bran- 
nan's  division  against  Forrest.  Croxton  drove  him  half 
a  mile,  but  was  stopped  by  Ector's  brigade  sent  in  by 
Walker ;  whereupon  Thomas  sent  in  the  whole  of 
Baird's  division,  driving  Walker. 

This  was  not  heavy  fighting,  but  an  advance  on  the 
part  of  Bragg  to  discover  what  there  was  between 
his  right  wing  and  Rossville.  He  had  hoped  to  find  at 
least  only  a  small  force  blocking  it,  which  he  would 
sweep  away  as  if  it-  were  only  a  cobweb.  If  he  had 
been  there  hours  earlier,  he  would  have  had  little  op 
position  ;  but  he  was  too  late. 

Noon.  Bragg  settled  himself  for  serious  work  on 
his  right.  He  must  obtain  possession  of  the  Lafayette 
road.  He  orders  up  Cheatham's  division  to  Walker's 
aid.  Cheatham  advances  on  Baird,  striking  his  left 
flank,  throws  two  of  Baird's  brigades  into  confusion, 
capturing  his  artillery,  driving  him  back  toward  Kel- 
ley's  house. 

Thomas  calmly  beholds  the  discomfiture.  A  mes 
senger  rides  to  Reynolds  and  Johnson,  who  are  south 
of  Kclley's  house,  and  where  Cheatham's  men  in  their 
exultation  with  wild  yells  are  proclaiming  their  success, 
but  they  find  themselves  whirled  back  in  confusion  by 
Reynolds  and  Johnson,  and  forced  to  leave  behind  the 
cannon  which  they  had  captured  from  Baird. 

Stewart's  division  of  Bragg' s  army  hastens  to  take  part 
in  the  melee.  Palmer's  of  Rosecrans's  comes,  Clay 
ton's,  Brown's,  and  Bates's  brigade  of  Stewart's  advance, 


BATTLE   OF   CHICKAMAUGA.    FIRST  DAY. 


1— Brannan.  1st  Position. 
2— Baird.    3— Johnson. 
4— Palmer. 
6— Reynolds. 


A—  Forrest. 
B— Walker. 
C—  Breckenridge. 


Union  Troops. 

6— Brannan.  2d  Position.  10— Davis. 

7— Van  Cleave.  1st  Position.  11— Wood. 

8 — Xeploy.  2d  Position.  12— Sheridan. 

9— Van  Cleave,  2d  Position.  18— McCook. 

Confederate  Troops. 
D— Cleburne.  G— Hood. 

E— Cheatham.  H—  B.  R.  Johnson. 

F—  Stewart.  I—  Preston.    /—Anderson. 


FIRST  DAT  AT   CHICKAMAUGA.  2QI 

one  after  the  other,  and  are  all  driven  back  before  the 
tremendous  fire  of  Reynolds,  Palmer,  and  Johnson. 

In  a  few  minutes,  four  hundred  of  Clayton's  men 
fell.  Brown  and  Bates  advanced  close  upon  Thomas's 
lines,  but  were  turned  back  with  great  loss. 

Two  o'clock.  The  battle  began  to  roll  up  the  creek. 
Hood  and  Johnson  advancing  against  Van  Cleve  and 
Davis.  Bragg  sent  in  part  of  Preston's  division  against 
Wood. 

From  two  till  four  the  contest  was  sharp.  Van 
Cleve  was  driven,  and  Negley  was  brought  down  from 
the  right  to  take  his  place.  That  was  at  half-past 
four. 

Hood,  Johnson,  and  Preston  were  driving  on  with  so 
much  vigor,  that  Rosecrans's  line  was  pushed  back 
nearly  to  widow  Glen's  house,  around  which  the  Rebel 
shells  were  constantly  exploding. 

But  Sheridan  came  down  from  the  extreme  right, 
and  stopped  the  onward  movement  of  the  Rebels. 

In  the  center,  where  Van  Cleve  was  pushed  back, 
Palmer's  flank  had  been  left  exposed,  but  Hazen  moved 
in  and  made  the  line  good  once  more.  He  planted 
twenty  cannon  on  a  knoll,  which  poured  a  murderous 
fire  upon  Cheatham,  who  was  moving  up  to  fall  upon 
Reynolds. 

The  sun  sinking  behind  Lookout  threw  its  departing 
beams  over  the  murky  field.  The  Union  troops  sup 
posed  that  the  conflict  for  the  day  was  over,  when 
Cleburne  and  Preston  made  a  sudden  attack  upon 
Johnson's  and  Baird's  divisions,  but  without  avail  ; 
they  were  driven,  and  night  closed  in  —  both  armies 


202  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

lying  down  upon  the  field  to  renew  the  struggle  in  the 
morning. 

Bragg  had  not  accomplished  what  he  had  set  out  to 
do  —  to  crush  Rosecrans's  left,  and  gain  the  Lafayette 
road. 

Every  division  sent  against  Thomas  had  been  rolled 
back  as  the  billows  of  the  ocean  are  hurled  from  the 
rocky  ledges  along  the  shore. 

The  battle  began  on  Kelley's  farm,  and  there  the 
last  shots  were  fired  as  night  set  in. 

How  should  the  battle  be  fought  on  the  morrow  ? 
What  would  Brag'g  attempt  —  what  could  he  do  ? 
How  could  the  Union  position  be  strengthened.  These 
were  the  questions  which  were  considered  in  Rose 
crans's  headquarters,  by  officers  in  consultation  dur 
ing  the  evening  of  the  iQth.  From  the  nature  of 
the  ground,  it  was  plain  that  Bragg  could  not  change 
his  attack  to  the  other  flank  ;  he  would  therefore  aim 
to  get  possession  of  the  Lafayette  road.  It  was  plain 
that  Rosecrans's  line  was  too  long,  that  it  must  be  con 
tracted.  Orders  were  issued,  therefore,  for  the  drawing 
in  of  the  right  to  widow  Glenn's  house,  thus  shortening 
the  line  more  than  a  mile.  Just  north  of  the  widow's 
cottage  there  is  a  hill,  and  the  line  was  formed  around 
the  southern  side,  with  Sheridan  facing  west,  Davis 
south,  Wood  east.  Then  came  Brannan,  Reynolds, 
Palmer,  Johnson,  and  Baird.  The  line  was  much  like 
a  fish-hook  in  its  contour — Sheridan  being  the  barbed 
point.  Such  a  line  would  have  its  advantages,  and 
also  its  disadvantages. 

Among  the  disadvantages  was  that  of   the  possi- 


FIRST  DAT  AT   CIIICKAMAUGA. 


203 


bility  of  being  subjected  to  an  enfilading  fire,  and 
if  anything  should  happen  to  break  the  center,  the 
driving  in  of  a  wedge  by  Bragg  at  that  point  would  be 
doubly  disastrous,  dividing  the  army  at  its  center.  To 
make  the  trains  secure,  they  were  sent  along  the  Dry 
Valley  road,  on  the  west  side  of  the  ridge  toward 
Chattanooga. 

All  of  the  Union  troops  have  been  engaged  —  all 
have  suffered  ;  but,  owing  to  Bragg's  superior  force, 
all  must  be  ready  to  take  part  in  the  struggle  on  the 
morrow. 

Bragg  also  was  holding  a  consultation  with  his  offi 
cers.  He  gave  a  hearty  grip  of  the  hand  to  General 
Longstreet,  who  arrived  during  the  evening.  His 
troops  had  preceded  him.  Bragg  handed  him  a  map, 
showed  him  the  roads,  bridges,  hillocks,  and  line  of 
battle. 

"The  battle  will  begin  at  daylight,"  said  Bragg,  "on 
the  right,  and  will  be  taken  up  successively  all  along 
the  line  to  the  left.  The  general  movement  will  be  a 
wheel  upon  your  extreme  left  as  a  pivot.  You  are 
assigned  to  the  command  of  the  left  wing." 

Longstreet  had  Hood,  Hindman,  Johnson,  Stewart, 
and  Preston,  with  a  large  number  of  batteries.  Mc- 
Lawes'  division  had  not  yet  arrived,  but  when  it  came, 
would  be  put  in  line. 

At  midnight  the  Confederate  officers  retired  to  their 
commands,  to  get  a  few  hours  sleep  before  the  begin 
ning  of  the  final  struggle,  which  was,  as  they  confi 
dently  expected,  to  crush  the  Union  army,  and  drive 
its  shattered  battalions  across  the  Tennessee. 


204  JAMBS  A.    GARFIELD. 


XIX. 
SECOND    DAY   AT   CHICKAMAUGA. 

FOR  the  battle  of  September  2Oth,  Bragg  had  no 
plan  except  to  pound  away  at  Rosecrans's  left, 
drive  Thomas  from.  Kelley's  farm,  and  gain  possession 
of  the  road  leading  to  Rossville.  If  he  could  carry  out 
this  plan,  he  could  annihilate  the  Union  army. 

Bragg's  right  wing,  under  Polk,  was  composed  of 
Breckenridge's,  Cheatham's,  Cleburne's,  and  Walker's 
divisions.'  They  were  to  begin  the  attack,  and  when 
Breckenridge,  who  held  the  extreme  right,  gained  pos 
session  of  the  road  in  rear  of  Thomas,  Longstreet  was 
to  push  on. 

It  will  be  interesting  just  here  to  note  the  difference 
we  sometimes  see  in  men  —  between  the  stately,  digni 
fied,  kind-hearted,  slow  and  easy  general,  who  before 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  had  been  preaching  sermons 
-  Lieutenant-General  Polk,  and  the  bold,  resolute, 
energetic  West  Point  graduate,  Longstreet. 

Polk  was  to  attack  at  daylight.  As  the  sun  began 
to  light  up  the  summit  of  Lookout,  Bragg  and  his 
staff  leaped  into  their  saddles,  expecting  to  hear  Polk's 
guns  breaking  the  stillness  of  the  morning  ;  but  they 
heard  nothing  save  the  rumbling  of  distant  wagons, 


SECOND  DAT  AT   CHICKAMAUGA. 


205 


and  the  hum  that  rises  from  the  bivouac  of  a  great 
army.  A  half  hour  passed.  Bragg  was  restless.  An 
hour,  he  was  chafing  with  impatience.  Another  half 
hour,  patience  was  exhausted.  He  turned  to  Major 
Lee  for  aid. 

"  Ride,  sir,  to  Lieutenant-General  Polk,  ascertain  the 
reason  for  his  delay,  and  urge  him  to  attack  at  once." 

Major  Lee  disappeared  down  the  road.  It  took  him 
nearly  half  an  hour  to  reach  Polk,  who  was  leisurely 
partaking  of  a  sumptuous  breakfast  with  his  staff. 

The  clerical  general  was  fond  of  display.  His  staff 
was  a  brilliant  one,  and  wherever  he  rode,  they  followed. 
Like  the  peacock,  he  was  fond  of  displaying  his  tail. 

Major  Lee  saluted  the  lieutenant-general,  and  gave 
his  message.  Polite  and  courtly  the  reply : 

"  Please  inform  the  general  commanding  that  I  have 
already  ordered  General  Hill  to  open  the  action  ;  that 
I  am  waiting  for  him  to  begin  ;  and  do  please  say  to 
General  Bragg  that  my  heart  is  overflowing  with  anxi 
ety  for  the  attack  —  with  anxiety,  sir." 

Major  Lee  returned  to  General  Bragg,  reporting  the 
reply  literally. 

The  Southern  historian  of  the  war,  Pollard,  has  not 
recorded  the  exact  words  that  fell  from  Bragg's  lips, 
but  he  says  that  the  preacher-general  and  all  his  divis 
ion  officers  and  everybody  else  were  consigned  to  per 
dition  by  Bragg,  who  was  ready  to  burst  with  anger. 

"  Ride,"  he  shouted,  "  all  along  the  line  ;  tell  every 
captain  to  take  his  men  instantly  into  action  ! " 

The  aids  departed,  and  a  few  minutes  later  Folk's 
troops  were  moving  to  the  attack. 


206  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

Are  events  coincidences,  or  is  there  a  hand  unseen 
directing  human  affairs,  —  taking  control  in  battle, 
marshalling  events,  —  to  bring  about  results  affecting 
ultimate  human  destiny  ? 

How  happened  it  that  the  same  easy-going  Polk  was 
in  command  of  Bragg's  right,  and  the  resolute,  ener 
getic  Longstreet,  noted  for  persistence  as  a  hammerer, 
was  in  command  of  the  left  ?  Bragg  assigned  them 
their  separate  positions  ;  he  might  have  reversed  them. 
Why  didn't  he  ?  The  right  was  the  place  where  thun 
derbolts  should  be  hurled  upon  the  Union  line  ;  the 
left  was  to  press  on  with  all  its  force ;  but  the  key  could 
only  be  seized  by  the  right. 

Passing  over  to  the  Union  lines  we  see  Thomas  just 
where  he  ought  to  be.  Was  it  obtuseness  on  the  part 
of  Bragg,  and  far-sightedness  on  the  part  of  Rosecrans, 
that  placed  Polk  on  one  side,  and  Thomas  on  the  other, 
where  they  were  ?  Whether  it  was  a  happening,  or 
the  evolution  of  law,  or  the  directing  power  of  a  Divine 
Providence,  it  is  certain  that  the  assignment  of  those 
commanders  to  their  several  positions  had  much  to  do 
with  the  issue  of  the  battle. 

The  three  hours'  delay  by  Polk,  till  after  his  elabo 
rate  breakfast,  were  of  inestimable  value  to  Rosecrans, 
who  from  sunrise  till  ten  o'clock  was  strengthening 
his  lines,  and  preparing  for  the  tremendous  struggle. 

Rosecrans,  at  the  beginning  of  the  battle  on  the 
iQth,  had  not  far  from  sixty  thousand  men,  including 
cavalry.  Bragg,  with  the  reinforcements  that  came, 
had  fully  seventy  thousand.  Bragg,  in  his  report  of 
the  battle,  says  that  his  loss  amounted  to  two-fifths  of 


SECOND  DAT  AT  CHICKAMAUGA.  207 

his  entire  army.  The  most  reliable  data  of  his  losses 
places  them  at  eighteen  thousand.  If  that  is  a  true 
statement,  it  would  swell  his  army  to  ninety  thousand. 
From  all  evidences  attainable,  it  is  clear  that  Rose- 
crans's  army  as  it  stood  in  line  at  ten  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  September  2Oth,  was  confronted  by  an 
army  outnumbering  it  at  least  ten  thousand. 

When  General  Thomas  returned  from  Rosecrans's 
headquarters  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  in 
spected  his  lines,  set  all  his  ax-men  at  work  cutting 
down  trees  and  strengthening  his  position.  He  saw 
that  Bragg  would  make  a  desperate  effort  to  turn  his 
flank,  and  asked  for  more  troops.  Rosecrans  ordered 
Negley's  division  to  move  over  to  the  left,  but  at  seven 
o'clock  in  the  morning  it  had  not  arrived,  for  Bragg's 
skirmishers  were  advancing  upon  Negley,  and  Rose 
crans  did  not  dare  to  withdraw  him  from  his  position. 
Beatty's  brigade  only  was  sent.  The  brigade  took 
position  on  the  extreme  left,  beyond  Baird's  division. 
Fifteen  minutes  later,  Baird  and  Beatty  were  assailed 
by  Breckenridge  and  Cleburne  so  furiously  that  they 
were  driven  back  toward  Missionary  Ridge,  and  Breck 
enridge  was  in  possession  of  the  Rossville  road,  but 
only  for  a  few  moments,  for  Thomas  ordered  up  one  of 
Brannan's,  and  one  of  Wood's  brigades,  who  drove 
Breckenridge  back  over  the  ground  he  had  gained. 

While  Breckenridge  and  Cleburne  were  thus  attempt 
ing  to  get  in  Thomas's  rear,  Bragg  hurled  Stewart,  B. 
R.  Johnson,  and  Walker  against  Palmer  and  Reynolds. 
"  The  first  attempt,"  says  Thomas  in  his  report,  "  was 
continued  at  least  two  hours,  making  assault  after  as- 


208  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

sault  with  fresh  troops,  which  were  met  by  my  troops 
with  a  most  determined  coolness  and  deliberation. 
Having  exhausted  his  utmost  energies  to  dislodge  us, 
he  apparently  fell  back  entirely  from  our  front,  and  we 
were  not  disturbed  again  until  toward  night." 

Polk  was  pushing  on  his  divisions  with  renewed  en 
ergy.  Breckenridge  was  facing  south,  Walker  south 
west,  Cheatham  west,  forming  a  semicircle  around 
Thomas,  but  not  one  inch  could  they  move  him.  The 
stubbornness  of  his  soldiers  in  refusing  to  be  moved 
was  upsetting  all  of  Bragg's  calculations.  Polk  was  to 
have  been  the  moving  column  and  Longstreet  the  pivot ; 
in  other  words,  the  Confederate  line  was  to  swing  like 
a  door,  Longstreet  being  its  hinge.  The  door  could  not 
swing  because  Thomas  blocked  the  way.  Longstreet 
was  getting  impatient,  and  so  was  Bragg.  Polk  was 
making  no  progress,  accomplishing  nothing  except  to 
have  divisions  cut  in  pieces. 

"  Let  every  officer  advance  his  command  at  once," 
was  the  order  sent  by  Bragg  all  along  his  lines.  Long- 
street  had,  beginning  on  the  right,  Stewart,  B.  R. 
Johnson,  Hood,  McLawes,  and  Preston,  —  five  divis 
ions.  Stewart  was  first  engaged.  His  troops  ad 
vanced,  but  were  driven  back  with  great  loss. 

It  is  past  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon.  The 
pressure  on  Thomas  is  so  tremendous  that  he  calls  on 
Rosecrans  for  more  troops.  The  aid  whom  he  sends 
to  General  Rosecrans  with  the  request  gallops  past 
Reynolds's  division.  Reynolds's  troops  are  standing  in 
such  a  way 'that  this  officer  thinks  they  are  not  in  line 
and  so  informs  General  Rosecrans.  He  does  not  see 


r/ 


KELLY  s  HOUSE: 

;a-  0— I 


BATTLE  OF  CHICKAJTAUGA.    SECOND  DAY. 


1— Beatty. 
2— Baird. 
3— Johnson. 


A— Breckenridge. 
£— Walker. 
C— Cheatham. 


Union  Troops. 
4— Palmer. 
5— Reynolds. 
6— Hazen. 

Confederate  Troops. 
D— Cleburne. 
E—  Stewart. 
F—  B.  K.  Johnson. 
C— Preston. 


7— Wood. 
8— Brannan. 
9— Steedman. 


.ff-Hood. 
/— McLowes. 
/•— Hindman. 


SECOND  DAT  AT  CHICKAMAUGA.  2I1 

that  Reynolds  has  formed  his  brigade  in  echelon,  that 
is,  one  brigade  behind  and  overlapping  the  one  in  front. 
The  troops  are  really  in  line  ;  the  officer  has  jumped 
at  a  conclusion.  Reynolds  has  formed  them  as  they 
stand  purposely,  and  his  troops  are  in  position  to  take 
part  the  moment  he  gives  the  order. 

General  Garfield  is  with  Rosecrans,  receiving  mes 
sages,  reading  them  to  him,  and  writing  responses.  All 
of  his  orders  are  clear  and  explicit,  brief  and  to  the 
point.  The  mastery  of  Webster's  spelling-book  in  his 
youthful  years  is  of  service  to  him  now.  He  knows 
the  meaning  of  words,  and  no  officer  is  at  loss  to  un 
derstand  General  Garfield's  despatches. 

For  the  moment  General  Garfield  has  other  duty  in 
hand,  and  an  aid  writes  an  order  to  General  Wood. 
An  officer  rides  in  hot  haste  down  to  Wood  and  delivers 
it :  "The  general  commanding  directs  that  you  close  up 
on  Reynolds  as  far  as  possible,  and  support  him."  I 
have  italicized  the  important  words. 

General  McCook  is  talking  with  Wood  at  the  mo 
ment.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  order  ?  Brannan 
is  between  Wood  and  Reynolds.  Thus  stands  the  di 
vision  :  Davis,  Wood,  Brannan,  Reynolds.  How  can 
he  close  up  on  Reynolds  while  Brannan  stands  be 
tween  ?  How  can  he  support  Reynolds  ?  Only  by 
marching  in  rear  of  Brannan  and  forming  behind 
Reynolds.  Such  a  movement  will  leave  a  wide  gap 
between  Brannan  and  Davis.  But  there  is  the  order. 

"  His  not  to  reason  why." 

"  Would  it  not  be  well  for  you  to  move  up  and  close 
the  gap  ?  "  is  Wood's  suggestion  to  McCook. 


212  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

"  I  will  do  so,"  McCook  replied. 

Wood's  division  faces  left,  moves  out  in  column  in 
rear  of  Brannan  on  the  double-quick.  Down  in  yonder 
woods  Hood's  division  of  Longstreet's  corps  is  just 
ready  to  move,  under  Bragg's  order  for  all  to  advance. 
Hood  beholds  with  glee  Wood's  division  take  its  depart 
ure.  His  time  has  come.  He  will  drive  his  division 
into  that  gap  and  cut  the  Union  army  in  two  at  its 
center. 

Strange  the  happenings !  Bragg  issuing  an  order 
for  the  advance  and  the  voluntary  opening  of  that  gap 
in  the  Union  lines  at  the  same  time !  If  there  had 
been  a  consultation  and  agreement,  it  could  not  have 
been  any  better  for  Bragg. 

There  are  only  two  divisions  of  Rosecrans  west  of 
the  gap  —  Davis  and  Sheridan.  Longstreet  outnum 
bers  them  four  to  one.  Hood  moves  out  from  the 
forest,  sweeps  over  the  cleared  field,  his  men  in  lines 
of  brigades.  Brannan  opens  upon  him  from  the  right, 
but  there  are  no  Union  troops  in  front.  With  a  wild 
exultant  yell  the  Confederates  rush  on,  entering  the 
gap,  striking  Brannan  on  one  side  and  Davis  on  the 
other.  The  hurly-burly  begins.  There  is  terrific  fight 
ing.  Lytte's  Brigade  of  Ohio  troops  are  moving  at 
the  moment  to  close  the  gap  made  by  Wood's  with 
drawal.  They  force  once  more  to  the  front.  "  If  we 
are  to  die  we  will  die  here,"  says  the  brave  man  to  his 
men.  A  bullet  pierces  his  spine,  but  he  still  sits  in 
his  saddle. 

"Charge!"  he  shouts,  and  his  men  obey.  They 
have  a  tender  love  for  him.  At  Murfreesboro'  they 


SECOND  DAT  AT  CHICKAMAUGA. 


213 


made  him  a  present  of  a  Maltese  cross  studded  with 
emeralds  and  diamonds.  They  will  die  for  him  if  need 
be.  They  are  few,  the  oncoming  Confederates  many, 
and  they  are  swept  back.  Three  Confederate  bullets 
almost  at  the  same  instant  strike  General  Lytle.  Cap 
tain  Green  and  an  aid  catch  him  in  their  arms.  Others 
come  —  two  to  fall  dead,  while  a  third  is  wounded  in 
the  terrible  storm. 

"  Lay  me  down  and  save  yourselves."  The  words 
do  not  fall  from  his  lips,  but  they  read  them  in  his  elo 
quent  eyes.  They  lay  him  beneath  a  tree.  He  hands 
them  his  sword  ;  he  would  not  have  it  fall  into  the 
hands  of  his  country's  enemies.  Years  ago  he  wrote 
of  death  as  if  in  prophecy  of  what  his  own  might  be : 

"  On  some  lone  spot,  where,  far  from  home  and  friends, 
The  way-worn  pilgrim  on  the  turf  reclining, 
This  life  and  much  of  grief  together  ends." 

His  troops  retreat,  and  the  enemy  come  upon  his 
lifeless  body,  beholding  him  lying  there  in  the  beauty 
and  glory  of  a  vigorous  manhood,  with  a  smiling  face. 

He  has  given  his  life  for  his  country,  and  he  has  left 
behind  him  one  single  poem  worthy  almost  to  give  him 
a  place  among  the  immortals  :  — 

"  I  am  dying,  Egypt  dying, 
Ebbs  the  crimson  life-tide  fast, 
And  the  dark  Plutonian  shadows 
Gather  on  the  evening  blast. 
Let  thine  arms,  O  Queen,  enfold  me; 
Hush  thy  sobs  and  bend  thine  ear, 
Listen  to  the  great  heart  secrets 
Thou  and  thou  alone  must  hear» 


214  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

Though  my  scarred  and  veteran  legions 
Bear  their  eagles  high  no  more, 
And  my  \vreckedand  scattered  galleys 
Strew  dark  Actium's  fatal  shore, 
Though  no  glittering  guards  surround  me 
Brought  to  do  thy  Master's  will,  — 
I  must  perish  like  a  Roman, 
Die,  the  great  Triumvir  still." 

It  is  Antony's  death. 

Nobler  than  the  great  Triumvir's  death  was  his  — 
for  Liberty,  Justice,  Right. 

The  Confederate  divisions  sweep  on.  Vain  the  ef 
forts  of  the  officers  of  Rosecrans,  Garfield,  McCook, 
and  Sheridan  to  stay  the  panic-stricken  soldiers.  Ap 
peals  and  commands  alike  are  unheeded.  Rosecrans 
leaves  Garfield  with  instructions  to  do  what  he  can 
toward  rallying  the  troops  at  Rossville.  There  is 
work  for  him  to  do  at  Chattanooga.  He  must  secure 
his  bridges  across  the  Tennessee,  or  all  will  be 
lost. 

Garfield  hears  Thomas's  cannon  still  thundering,  and 
rolls  of  musketry  like  the  surge  of  the  ocean-billows. 
He  rides  in  that  direction  in  front  of  Hood's  advanc 
ing  lines.  Cannon-shot  plow  the  ground  beneath  his 
horse's  feet,  shells  burst  around  him.  He  rides  through 
a  shower  of  leaden  rain  —  runs  a  gauntlet  of  fire,  and 
comes  out  upon  a  knoll  where  he  can  overlook  the  bat 
tlefield.  He  sees  Thomas  standing  where  he  has  stood 
through  all  the  tremendous  struggle.  More  than  this, 
he  sees  Gordon  Granger  moving  down  with  the  re 
serve  corps.  Steedman's  division  in  advance.  Granger 
had  heard  the  roar  of  battle  coming  nearer.  He  has 


SECOND  DAT  AT  CHICKAMAUGA. 

had  no  orders  to  advance,  but  has  moved  of  his  own 
accord. 

Granger's  muskets  flash  in  the  faces  of  Longstreet's 
advancing  divisions.  The  front  of  Hood's  line  melts 
away  as  a  straw  in  a  candle's  flame.  Granger's  action 
is  like  the  shutting  of  a  gate  in  a  sluice-way,  rolling  back 
the  tide. 

The  exultant  barbaric  yell  born  of  slavery,  which  a 
moment  ago  was  echoing  over  the  wooded  knolls  of 
Missionary  Ridge,  suddenly  ceases.  Whole  ranks  go 
down  before  the  awful  fire  flaming  from  Granger's  and 
Thomas's  lines. 

General  Garfield  beholds  the  scene.  It  is  the  one 
supreme  moment  of  his  life.  The  battle  is  not  lost 
after  all. 

"  Our  flag  is  still  there  !  " 

Never  such  sweet  music  to  his  ear  as  the  answering 
roll  and  roar  from  Thomas's  and  Granger's  lines.  Again 
and  again  the  Confederate  troops  are  driven  back  and 
the  sun  goes  down  behind  Lookout,  leaving  Thomas 
still  master  of  the  situation.  He  holds  the  road  to 
Rossville,  —  the  one  thing  for  which  Bragg  has  been 
fighting ! 

Rosecrans's  has  reached  Chattanooga  and  has  estab 
lished  a  line  behind  which  his  troops  can  rally,  and 
which  they  can  hold  against  Bragg.  He  sends  a  de 
spatch  to  Washington,  with  the  information  that  his 
right  wing  has  been  driven.  Abraham  Lincoln  reads 
it  with  a  sad  heart.  Another  defeat ;  thousands  of 
lives  sacrificed  ;  the  army  in  retreat ;  to-morrow  it  will 
be  across  the  Tennessee. 


2i8  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

But  the  battle  is  not  lost.  Longstreet  has  been 
driving  on  his  divisions  one  after  another,  only  to  see 
them  rolled  back  again  by  Granger  and  Thomas.  He 
has  pushed  Rosecrans's  right  along  the  Dry  Valley  road, 
has  captured  cannon,  small  arms,  and  prisoners  ;  but 
Sheridan,  Davis,  and  Wood  still  block  his  way,  while 
Granger  is  thundering  upon  him  from  the  center. 

An  officer  dashes  into  Chattanooga  with  a  despatch 
from  Garfield.  "  Thomas  is  holding  the  right.  Granger 
the  left.  Soldiers  are  rallying.  Bragg  cannot  drive 
them  from  their  position  !  "  The  news  electrifies  the 
country. 

The  sun  goes  down  behind  Lookout,  with  Granger 
and  Garfield  in  person  directing  a  battery  that  defiantly 
hurls  shot  and  shells  into  the  ranks  of  the  Confeder 
ates.  Two-fifths  of  Bragg' s  army  have  been  killed  or 
wounded  during  the  two  days'  struggles  [Bragg's  Re 
port],  He  has  lost  his  aggressive  power.  He  has 
not  routed  the  Union  army ;  he  has  only  pushed  back 
its  right  wing.  He  has  been  fighting  to  gain  posses 
sion  of  the  Rossville  road  and  has  been  foiled  in  all  his 
efforts. 

The  battle  is  not  lost ;  the  campaign  is  won.  Gen 
eral  Garfield  planned  it  to  gain  possession  of  Chatta 
nooga,  and  Rosecrans  has  succeeded.  Never  again 
will  the  stars  and  bars  be  planted  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tennessee. 

The  battle  has  been  fought  and  the  campaign  won 
on  the  slope  of  Missionary  Ridge  ;  but  neither  there 
nor  at  Rossville  is  the  proper  place  for  holding  what 
has  been  gained,  and  General  Rosecrans  withdraws 


SECOND  DAT  AT  CHICKAMAUGA.  2ig 

his  army  without  molestation  to  Chattanooga,  builds 
defenses,  and  waits  the  arrival  of  reinforcements  and 
supplies. 

The  President  recognizes  the  value  of  General  Gar- 
field's  services  in  the  campaign  and  on  the  field  of  bat 
tle,  by  appointing  him  a  major-general. 


220  JAMES  A.  GARFIBLD. 


XX. 

ELECTION    TO    CONGRESS. 

THE  lives  of  some  men  seemingly  shape  them 
selves.  Events  sweep  them  on.  Their  own  vo 
lition  is  not  called  into  exercise.  As  the  Gulf  Stream 
bears  the  sea-weed  grown  on  the  reefs  of  Florida  far 
away  to  northern  seas,  so  some  men  are,  as  it  were, 
caught  up  by  the  current  of  events  and  borne  on  to 
their  destiny.  But  that  is  the  superficial  view.  There 
is  a  law  which  governs  the  tides  of  the  ocean,  and 
which  sets  the  Gulf  Stream  —  that  great  river  of  the 
Atlantic  —  in  motion  ;  the  turning  of  the  earth  on  its 
axis  is  the  final  cause,  so  far  as  we  know  ;  and  so  long 
as  the  sun  shall  rise  and  set,  that  mighty  current  will 
continue  to  run.  There  is  a  law,  equally  immutable, 
governing  the  lives  of  men.  If  a  man  is  swept  on  in 
any  particular  course,  there  is  a  reason  for  it.  It  does 
not  come  by  chance. 

"  All  successful  men,"  says  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson, 
"  have  agreed  in  one  thing  —  they  were  causationists. 
They  believed  that  things  went  not  by  luck,  but  by 
law  ;  that  there  was  not  a  weak  or  a  cracked  link  in 
the  chain  that  joins  the  first  and  last  of  things." 

We   have   seen   the   boy  who  planed   boards,  who 


ELECTION   TO   CONGRESS.  22I 

chopped  wood,  who  drove  mules  on  the  tow-path,  who 
made  mortises  and  tenons,  leaving  physical  and  taking 
up  intellectual  labor.  He  begins  brain-work.  He  finds 
that  mind  is  more  powerful  than  muscle.  He  makes 
the  acquaintance  of  the  old  mind-masters,  whose  brain 
force  was  so  great  that  their  names,  and  their  thoughts, 
have  come  down  to  us  over  the  ages,  and  are  still 
potent  to  move  men  to  action.  As  the  sailor  in  mid- 
ocean  gazes  steadily  upon  the  compass  and  guides  his 
ship  by  it,  so  James  A.  Garfield  fixed  his  eye  "  upon  a 
definite  object,"  and  bent  all  his  energies  to  attain  it. 

"  All  great  captains,"  said  Bonaparte,  "  have  per 
formed  vast  achievements  by  adjusting  efforts  to  ob 
stacles." 

When  a  man  summons  his  resolution  —  when  he 
determines,  and  brings  all  his  powers  to  bear  upon  the 
determination,  he  is  acting  in  accordance  with  law  — 
and  success  will  come  of  it.  James  A.  Garfield  never 
would  have  been  a  teacher  if  he  had  not  determined 
to  be  one.  The  training  of  his  powers  to  that  end 
fitted  him  to  command  men  ;  to  be  a  strategist,  a  gen 
eral.  When  he  sat  in  the  lecture-room  at  Williams, 
listening  to  President  Mark  Hopkins  on  the  domain 
of  law,  he  wras  beginning  his  training  as  a  statesman. 
When  the  time  came  —  when  his  country  needed  him 
as  a  military  commander,  as  a  chief-of-staff —  he  was 
fitted  for  it ;  he  filled  the  place.  Such  a  man  makes 
events.  Events  do  not  merely  come  along  and  pick 
men  —  such  men  —  up.  Bonaparte  made  Austerlitz 
and  Eylau.  James  A.  Garfield  did  his  share  in  mak 
ing  Middle  Creek,  Tullahoma,  and  Chickamauga. 


222  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

The  law  of  progress  that  carried  him  from  the  tow- 
path  to  Hiram,  brought  him  the  award  for  meritorious 
conduct  on  that  last  field  of  battle.  The  time  had 
come  when  it  was  to  carry  him  farther,  and  in  a  new 
direction. 

The  death  of  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  representative  in 
Congress  from  Ashtabula,  necessitated  the  selection  of 

o 

a  new  man  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Who  should  it  be  ? 
Two  men,  Whittlesey  and  Giddings,  had  represented 
the  district  for  a  long  period.  They  were  men  of 
energy,  character,  animated  by  profound  convictions 
of  Justice,  Right,  and  Liberty.  They  were  honored 
and  respected  by  their  constituents,  as  few  members 
of  Congress  have  been  ;  they  never  were  in  doubt 
about  their  re-election.  Their  unswerving  devotion  to 
their  principles  was  their  guarantee,  and  it  never  failed 
them.  Whom  should  the  citizens  of  Ashtabula  select  to 
succeed  such  men  ?  There  was  one  man  whom  they 
could  trust — James  A.  Garfield.  They  knew  him;  he 
had  proved  himself  —  as  teacher  at  Hiram,  as  legislator 
at  Columbus.  He  was  serving  his  country  —  maintain 
ing  his  convictions  on  the  battlefield.  With  one  voice 
they  selected  him  to  succeed  Mr.  Giddings.  He  was 
nominated  and  elected,  without  any  action  on  his  part, 
and  while  he  was  with  the  army.  Seemingly  his  life 
was  shaping  itself,  but  the  shaping  had  been  done  long 
before. 

Though  elected  in  1862,  he  remained  in  the  army 
till  after  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  in  1863.  Nor  did 
he  leave  it  of  his  own  volition,  but  at  the  solicitation 
of  President  Lincoln,  who  had  become  greatly  im- 


ELECTION  TO   CONGRESS.  223 

pressed  with  General  Garfield's  ability.  The  Demo 
cratic  party  was  making  strenuous  efforts  to  stop  the 
war,  by  getting  control  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  and  withholding  supplies  ;  and  President  Lincoln 
and  the  leaders  of  the  Republican  party  saw  the  neces 
sity  of  bringing  in  congressmen  of  ability,  whose  loyalty 
to  the  Constitution  and  the  Union  was  as  changeless 
as  the  stars  in  the  heavens.  More  than  that,  General 
Garfield  had  been  elected  by  a  constituency  which  in 
its  vital  statistics  is  almost  without  a  parallel.  It  is  a 
district  which  perhaps,  relatively,  has  less  crime  and 
illiteracy  than  any  other  in  the  country.  It  is  a  con 
stituency  true  to  Liberty. 

From  the  very  beginning  General  Garfield  repre 
sented  the  higher  phase  of  American  politics.  During 
his  first  term  he  served  in  the  Committee  of  Military 
Affairs  ;  during  the  second  term  in  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee ;  in  the  fortieth  Congress  he  was  chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  ;  in  the  forty-first, 
chairman  of  the  Banking  and  Currency  Committee  ; 
in  the  forty-second  and  afterwards  he  occupied  the 
chairmanship  of  the  Appropriation  Committee,  until 
the  Democrats  came  to  power  in  1875. 

He  began  with  his  arrival  at  Washington  a  regular 
course  of  solid  readings  on  all  topics  with  which  he 
was.  called  upon  to  deal  as  a  legislator,  particularly  con 
stitutional  law,  finance,  the  tariff,  taxation,  and  the 
public  service. 

The  Index  of  the  Congressional  Record  shows  that 
General  Garfield  has  participated  in  the  discussion  of 


224  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

almost  every  important  question  brought  before  Con 
gress  since  1863. 

On  June  28,  1864,  he  made  a  speech  upon  the  con 
fiscation  of  certain  Rebel  estates.  In  February  follow 
ing  he  spoke  against  a  draft  law,  and  opposed  the  ap 
pointment  of  a  lieutenant-general,  and  favored  the  sale 
of  gold  by  the  Treasury  for  the  relief  of  the  market. 

To  give  a  list  of  his  speeches  would  be  to  copy  many 
pages  of  the  Index  of  the  Congressional  Record.  They 
were  not  speeches  made  at  random,  but  with  prepara 
tion  and  research. 

His  acquaintance  with  the  French  and  German  lan 
guage,  his  wide  reading  of  history,  biography,  philoso 
phy,  his  love  of  belle-lettres,  and  acquaintance  with 
general  literature,  based  on  a  thorough  classical  educa 
tion,  gives  him  great  facility  in  debate,  and  his  speeches 
have  always  commanded  the  attention  of  the  House. 
His  sentences  are  smooth,  terse,  and  often  epigram 
matic  ;  his  periods  rounded  and  impressed.  A  listener 
is  never  at  a  loss  to  understand  his  meaning. 

William  Pitt  the  younger  used  words  to  cover  up  his 
ideas  ;  and  Lord  Palmerston,  when  he  chose,  could  em 
ploy  them  to  mask  his  opinion.  It  has  been  said  that 
Talleyrand  never  made  a  sincere  and  honest  speech  ; 
but  there  never  is  any  subterfuge  in  the  speeches  of 
General  Garfield.  No  one  need  be  in  the  fog  as  to 
his  meaning. 

The  mastery  of  Webster's  Spelling-book  in  his  early 
boyhood,  as  well  as  his  more  extended  philological 
studies,  gave  him  facility  in  the  use  of  language. 

Having  honest  and  decided  convictions,  his  speeches 


ELECTION  TO   CONGRESS. 

are   as    clear-cut   as   diamonds.     They  are  never  dry 
reading. 

"  There  is  nothing,"  said  Daniel  Webster,  "  so  dry 
as  statistics." 

To  most  statistical  speeches  the  remark  would  be 
applicable ;  but  the  writer  has  seen  General  Garfield 
the  center  of  an  eager  group  of  members  of  both  po 
litical  parties,  while  delivering  a  speech  full  of  statis 
tics  upon  the  sugar  qustion  —  the  amount  consumed, 
and  the  best  method  of  determining  the  value  of  the 
article,  for  the  collection  of  revenue. 

All  of  his  nominations  to  Congress  came  spontane 
ously  from  his  constituents,  who  have  unbounded  faith 
in  him. 

is 


226  JAMES  A.   GARFI&LD. 


XXI. 

SPEECHES    IN   CONGRESS. 

ON  April  8th,  1864,  the  House  of  Representatives 
went  into  committee  of  the  whole  on  the  con 
sideration  of  the  President's  message.  Mr.  Long  of 
Ohio,  a  prominent  leader  of  the  Bourbon  democracy, 
made  a  speech  to  which  Mr.  Garfield  replied.  To  un 
derstand  the  force  of  Mr.  Garfield's  speech,  it  is  need 
ful  to  take  a  view  of  the  state  of  affairs  at  the  time. 

To  go  back  a  few  months.  The  year  1863  opened 
gloomily  for  the  Union  armies.  In  December,  1862, 
the  army  of  the  Potomac  had  been  defeated  at'  Freder- 
icksburg.  It  had  remained  inactive  through  the  win 
ter,  and  had  again  been  defeated  at  Chancellorsville. 
The  attempt  of  the  navy  at  Charleston  had  failed. 
Then  came  the  invasion  of  Pennsylvania,  followed  by 
the  first  great  decisive  victory  for  the  Army  of  the  Po 
tomac,  at  Gettysburg,  in  July,  1863.  The  tide  of  vic 
tory  rolled  down  the  Mississippi,  sweeping  in  Vicks- 
burg  and  Port  Hudson,  opening  the  river  the  entire 
length  to  the  flag  of  the  Union. 

Then  came  a  lull.  Through  the  winter  of  '63  and 
'64  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  Rapidan,  Lee  on  the  south  bank,  with  the  lar- 


SPEECHES  IN  CONGRESS. 


227 


gest  and  most  effective  army  that  the  Confederacy  had 
put  into  the  field.  Sherman  had  spent  the  winter  at 
Chattanooga,  confronted  by  a  large  army.  The  war 
had  been  going  on  three  years,  at  a  great  expense  of 
men  and  money.  The  Democracy  were  clamoring  for 
peace.  There  were  some  men  in  the  Democratic  party 
who  doubtless  were  sincere  in  their  belief  that  war 
was  infinitely  worse  than  any  evils  that  could  come 
from  secession  ;  but  there  was  in  the  Democratic  party 
an  eleme.it  in  sympathy  and  league  with  the  Confed 
eracy.  They  raised  the  cry  of  "  Peace  on  any  terms." 
In  Indiana  were  the  "  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle," 
—  a  secret  organization,  formed  to  aid  the  Confed 
eracy.  One  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  Northern 
sympathizers  was  Vallandigham,  member  of  Congress 
from  Ohio,  who  after  the  adjournment  of  the  37th  Con 
gress,  made  speeches  through  Ohio,  counselling  resist 
ance  to  the  draft  which  the  administration  had  ordered. 
He  charged  the  government  with  aiming,  under  the 
pretext  of  restoring  the  Union,  to  crush  out  Liberty, 
and  establish  a  despotism,  and  of  deliberately  rejecting 
the  propositions  made  by  which  the  Southern  States 
could  have  been  brought  back. 

General  Burnside,  commanding  the  military  depart 
ment  of  Ohio,  had  issued  an  order  —  No.  38,  forbidding 
certain  disloyal  practices.  Vallandigham  defiantly  an 
nounced  that  he  intended  to  disobey  it,  and  called  upon 
his  party  to  sustain  him,  for  which  he  was  arrested,  tried 
by  court-martial,  and  sentenced  to  be  confined  in  some 
fortress  of  the  United  States. 

President  Lincoln  was  wiser   than   the   court     To 


228  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

hold  him  as  a  prisoner  in  confinement  would  beget  sym 
pathy  for  him,  but  no  one  could  find  fault  if  he  was 
sent  South  ;  and  with  grim  humor  the  President  sent 
him  inside  the  Rebel  lines,  forbidding  his  return  while 
hostilities  lasted. 

Vallandigham,  after  passing  some  weeks  in  Rich 
mond,  escaped  in  a  blockade  runner  and  made  his  way 
to  Canada,  to  lay  plots  with  English,  Canadian,  and 
American  sympathizers  to  raise  a  rebellion  in  the 
Northern  States. 

President  Lincoln  had  wisely  judged  that  his  arrest 
would  be  regarded -as  an  arbitrary  act,  and  that  the 
Democracy  would  make  the  most  of  it.  The  Demo 
cratic  party  organized  meetings  in  nearly  every  State 
to  protest  against  the  action  of  the  government,  and 
the  party  in  Ohio  carried  their  folly  to  a  climax  by 
nominating  him  governor.  The  Republican  party  of 
that  State  showed  its  wisdom  by  nominating  John 
Brough,  a  former  Democrat,  but  who  was  giving  heart, 
soul  and  money  to  the  support  of  the  government. 
He  was  elected  by  more  than  one  hundred  thousand 
majority.  Strenuous  efforts  had  been  made  by  the 
Democracy  to  secure  the  House  of  Representatives. 
If  they  could  accomplish  that,  they  could  withhold 
supplies,  cripple  the  administration,  and  put  an  end  to 
the  war,  —  the  Southern  States  establishing  the  Con 
federacy.  The  Republicans  obtained  a  majority  of 
twenty. 

Under  such  circumstances  the  spring  of  1864 
opened.  It  was  the  year  for  the  election  of  President. 
The  Republicans  had  no  thought  of  any  other  candi- 


SPEECHES  IN  CONGRESS. 


229 


date  than  Abraham  Lincoln,  while  the  Democrats  were 
thinking  of  McClellan,  who  had  been  removed  from 
the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

The  peace  party,  notwithstanding  its  defeat  the  pre 
ceding  autumn,  was  fully  organized,  and  hoped,  with 
McClellan  as  candidate,  to  divide  the  soldiers'  vote,  to 
secure  enough  from  disaffected  Republicans  to  insure 
his  election. 

The  speech  of  Mr.  Long  was  the  first  bugle-blast  of 
the  Democracy  for  the  approaching  campaign.  It  was 
carefully  prepared,  the  sentences  studied,  and  the  whole 
worked  up  with  consummate  art. 

He  said  at  the  beginnnig  :  "  Mr.  Chairman,  I  speak 
to-day  for  the  preservation  of  the  government,  and,  al 
though  for  the  first  time  within  these  walls,  I  propose 
to  indulge  in  that  freedom  and  latitude  so  freely  exer 
cised  by  other  gentlemen  for  the  past  four  months  ;  but 
for  what  I  may  say,  and  the  position  I  shall  occupy 
upon  this  floor  and  before  the  country,  I  alone  will 
be  responsible,  and  in  the  independence  of  a  represen 
tative  of  the  people,  I  intend  to  proclaim  the  deliberate 
conviction  of  my  judgment  in  this  fearful  hour  of  our 
country's  peril." 

The  speech  is  too  long  for  insertion  here  ;  its  tenor 
and  boldness  will  be  sufficiently  seen  by  quoting  a  few 
paragraphs.  Mr.  Long  said  : 

"  The  brief  period  of  three  short  years  has  produced 
a  fearful  change  in  this  free,  happy,  and  prosperous 
govemment,  —  so  pure  in  its  restraints  upon  personal 
liberty,  and  so  gentle  in  its  demands  upon  the  resources 


230  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

of  the  people,  that  the  celebrated  Humboldt,  after  trav 
eling  through  the  country  on  his  return  to  Europe, 
said,  'That  the  American  people  have  a  government 
which  you  neither  see  nor  feel.'  So  different  is  it  now, 
and  so  great  the  change,  that  the  inquiry  might  well  be 
made  to-day,  whether  we  are  not  in  Constantinople,  St. 
Petersburg,  Vienna,  Rome,  or  Paris. 

"  Military  governors  and  their  provost  marshals  over 
ride  the  laws,  and  the  echo  of  the  armed  heel  rings 
forth  as  clearly  now  in  America  as  in  France  or  Aus 
tria  ;  and  the  President  sits  to-day  guarded  by  armed 
soldiers  at  every,  approach  leading  to  the  Executive 
Mansion.  So  far  from  crushing  the  rebellion,  fhree 
years  have  passed  away,  and  from  the  day  on  whi^h 
the  conflict  began,  up  to  the  present  hour,  the  Confed 
erate  army  has  not  been  forced  beyond  the  sound  of 
their  guns  from  the  dome  of  the  Capitol,  in  which  we 
are  assembled 

"  Can  the  Union  be  restored  by  war  ?  I  answer  most 
unhesitatingly  and  deliberately :  No,  never.  War  is  final 
and  eternal  separation.  My  first  and  highest  ground 
against  its  further  prosecution  is  that  it  is  wrong.  It  is 
a  violating  of  the  Constitution  and  of  the  fundamental 
principles  on  which  this  Union  was  founded. 

"  My  second  objection  is,  that,  as  a  policy,  it  is 
not  reconstructive,  but  destructive,  and  will  if  contin 
ued  result  speedily  in  the  destruction  of  the  govern 
ment  and  the  loss  of  civil  liberty,  to  both  the  North 
and  the  South,  and  it  ought  therefore  to  immediately 
close 

"  The  words  Shiloh,  Antietam,  Gettysburg,  Murfrees 


SPEECHES   IN  CONGRESS. 


231 


boro',  Richmond,  Vicksburg,  and  Fort  Donelson,  are 
words  of  division,  disunion,  and  will  serve  to  bring 
emotions  of  eternal  hate." 

Mr.  Long's  hour  having  expired,  the  hammer  fell. 

Mr.  Washburn  of  Illinois  said,  that  as  the  speech  was 
to  be  the  key-note  in  the  approaching  campaign,  he 
hoped  there  would  be  no  objection  to  the  finishing  of 
the  speech.  No  objection  was  given,  and  the  speech 
was  finished  in  all  its  bitterness. 

Mr.  Garfield  arose  as  Mr.  Long  sat  down.  He  had 
premeditated  no  reply,  but  had  listened  attentively. 
What  came  from  his  lips  was  the  outburst  of  a  loyal 
heart  on  fire  for  the  welfare  of  his  country.  Rising  to 
his  full  stature,  he  said  : 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  I  should  be  obliged  to  you  if  you 
would  direct  the  sergeant-at-arms  to  bring  a  white 
flag  and  plant  it  in  the  aisle  between  myself  and  my 
colleague  who  has  just  addressed  you. 

"  I  recollect  on  one  occasion  when  two  great  armies 
stood  face  to  face,  that  under  a  white  flag  just  planted 
I  approached  a  company  of  men  dressed  in  the  uniform 
of  the  rebel  Confederacy,  and  reached  out  my  hand  to 
one  of  the  number  and  told  him  I  respected  him  as  a 
brave  man.  Though  he  wore  the  emblems  of  disloy 
alty  and  treason,  still  underneath  his  vestments  I  be 
held  a  brave  and  honest  soul. 

"  I  would  produce  that  scene  here  this  afternoon.  I 
say,  were  there  such  a  flag  of  truce  —  but  God  forbid  me 
if  I  should  do  it  under  any  other  circumstances  !  J 


232  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

would  reach  out  this  right  hand  and  ask  that  gentle 
man  to  take  it ;  because  I  honor  his  bravery  and  his 
honesty.  I  believe  what  has  just  fallen  from  his  lips  are 
the  honest  sentiments  of  his  heart,  and  in  uttering  it 
he  has  made  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  this  war  ; 
he  has  done  a  new  thing  under  the  sun  ;  he  has  done 
a  brave  thing.  It  is  braver  than  to  face  cannon  and 
musketry,  and  I  honor  him  for  his  candor  and  frank 
ness. 

"  But  now  I  ask  you  to  take  away  the  flag  of  truce  ; 
and  I  will  go  back  inside  the  Union  lines  and  speak  of 
what  he  has  done.  I  am  reminded  by  it  of  a  distin 
guished  character  in  '  Paradise  Lost.'  When  he  had 
rebelled  against  the  glory  of  God,  and  'led  away  a 
third  part  of  heaven's  sons,  conjured  against  the  High 
est ;'  when,  after  terrible  battles  in  which  mountains 
and  hills  were  hurled  down  '  nine  times  the  space  that 
measures  day  and  night/  and  after  the  terrible  fall  lay 
stretched  prone  on  the  burning  lake,  —  Satan  lifted  up 
his  shattered  bulk,  crossed  the  abyss,  looked  down  into 
Paradise,  and,  soliloquizing,  said  : 

'Which  way  I  fly  is  hell,  myself  am  hell;  * 

it  seems  to  me  in  that  utterance  he  expressed  the 
very  sentiment  to  which  you  have  just  listened  ; 
uttered  by  one  not  less  brave,  malign,  and  fallen.  This 
man  gathers  up  the  meaning  of  this  great  contest,  the 
philosophy  of  the  moment,  the  prophecies  of  the  hour, 
and,  in  sight  of  the  paradise  of  victory  and  peace, 
utters  them  all  in  this  wail  of  terrible  despair,  '  Which 
way  I  fly  is  hell.'  He  ought  to  add,  '  Myself  am  hell.' 


SPEECHES  IN  CONGRESS.        233 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  reminded  of  two  characters  in 
the  War  of  the  Revolution  as  compared  with  two 
others  in  the  war  of  to-day. 

"  The  first  was  Lord  Fairfax,  who  dwelt  near  the 
Potomac,  a  few  miles  from  us.  When  the  great  con 
test  was  opened  between  the  mother-country  and  the 
colonies,  Lord  Fairfax,  after  a  protracted  struggle  with 
his  own  heart,  decided  that  he  must  go  with  the  mother- 
country.  He  gathered  his  mantle  around  him  and 
went  over  grandly,  solemnly,  impressively,  and  joined 
the  fortunes  of  Great  Britain,  against  the  home  of  his 
adoption. 

"  But  there  was  another  man  who  cast  in  his  lot  with 
the  struggling  colonies,  and  continued  with  them  till 
the  war  was  well-nigh  ended.  But  in  a  day  of  dark 
ness,  which  just  preceded  the  glory  of  the  dawn,  that 
other  man,  deep  down  in  the  damned  pits  of  a  black 
heart,  hatched  the  treason  to  surrender  forever  all  that 
had  been  gained,  to  the  enemies  of  his  country.  Bene 
dict  Arnold  was  that  man. 

"Fairfax  and  Arnold  find  their  parallel  in  the  strug 
gle  of  to-day. 

"  When  this  war  began,  many  good  men  stood  doubt 
ing  what  they  ought  to  do.  Their  doctrine  of  State 
rights,  their  sympathies,  all  they  had  ever  loved  and 
longed  for,  were  in  the  South,  and  after  long  and  pain 
ful  hesitation  went  with  the  enemies  of  the  nation. 

"  At  that  time  Robert  E.  Lee  sat  in  his  home  across 
the  river  here,  doubting  and  delaying,  and  going  off  at 
last,  almost  tearfully,  to  join  the  enemies  of  his  coun- 


234  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

try.  He  reminds  me  in  some  respects  of  Lord  Fair 
fax,  the  stately  royalist  of  the  Revolution. 

"  But  now,  when  hundreds  of  thousands  of  brave  souls 
have  gone  up  to  God  under  the  shadow  of  the  flag, 
and  when  thousands  more,  maimed  and  shattered  in 
the  contest,  are  sadly  awaiting  the  deliverance  of 
death  ;  now,  when  three  years  of  terrific  warfare  have 
raged  over  us,  when  our  armies  have  pushed  the  Re 
bellion  back  over  mountains  and  rivers,  and  crowded 
it  back  into  narrow  limits,  until  a  wall  of  fire  girds  it  ; 
now,  when  the  uplifted  hand  of  a  majestic  people  is 
about  to  let  fall  the  lightning  of  its  conquering  power 
upon  the  Rebellion  ;  now,  in  the  quiet  of  this  hall, 
hatched  in  the  lowest  depths  of  a  similar  dark  treason, 
there  arises  a  Benedict  Arnold  and  proposes  to  sur 
render  us  all  up,  body  and  spirit,  the  nation  and 
its  flag,  its  genius  and  its  honor,  now  and  forever,  to 
the  accursed  traitors  to  our  country.  And  that  pro 
position  comes  —  God  forgive  and  pity  my  beloved 
State  —  it  comes  from  a  citizen  of  the  honored  and 
loyal  commonwealth  of  Ohio. 

"  I  implore  you,  brethren  in  this  House,  not  to  believe 
that  many  such  births  ever  gave  pangs  to  my  mother- 
State  such  as  she  suffered  when  that  traitor  was  born. 
[Suppressed  applause  and  sensation.]  I  beg  you  not 
to  believe  that  on  the  soil  of  that  State  another  such 
growth  has  ever  deformed  the  face  of  nature  and  dark 
ened  the  light  of  God's  day.  [An  audible  whisper,  Val- 
landigham.]  But  ah,  I  am  reminded  there  are  other 
such.  My  zeal  and  love  for  Ohio  have  carried  me  too 
far.  I  retract.  I  remember  that  only  a  few  days  since 


SPEECHES  IN  CONGRESS.  235 

a  political  convention  met  at  the  capital  of  my  State, 
and  almost  decided  to  select  from  just  such  material 
a  representative  for  the  Democratic  party  in  the  com 
ing  contest ;  and  to-day,  what  claim  to  be  a  Democracy 
of  that  State,  say  that  they  have  been  cheated  or  they 
would  have  made  that  choice.  I  therefore  sadly  take 
back  that  boast  I  first  uttered  in  behalf  of  my  native 
State. 

"  But,  sir,  I  will  forget  States.  We  have  something 
greater  than  States  and  State  pride  to  talk  of  here  to 
day.  All  personal  or  State  feeling  aside,  I  ask  you, 
what  is  the  proposition  the  enemy  of  his  country  has 
just  made  ?  What  is  it  ? 

"  For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  this  contest,  it  is 
proposed  in  this  hall  to  give  up  the  struggle,  to  aban 
don  the  war,  an'd  let  treason  run  riot  through  the  land  ! 
I  will,  if  I  can,  dismiss  feeling  from  my  heart  and  try 
to  consider  only  what  bears  upon  the  logic  of  the 
speech  to  which  we  have  just  listened. 

"  First  of  all,  the  gentleman  tells  us  that  the  right  of 
secession  is  a  constitutional  right.  I  do  not  propose 
to  enter  into  the  argument.  I  have  hitherto  expressed 
myself  on  State  sovereignty  and  State  rights,  of  which 
this  proposition  of  his  is  the  legitimate  child. 

"But  the  gentleman  takes  higher  ground  —  and  in 
that  I  agree  with  him,  namely,  that  five  million  or 
eight  million  people  possess  the  right  of  revolution. 
Grant  it :  we  agree  there.  If  fifty-nine  men  can  make 
revolution  successful,  they  have  the  right  of  revolution. 
If  one  State  wishes  to  break  its  connection  with  the 
Federal  government,  and  does  it  by  force  maintaining 


336  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

itself,  it  is  an  independent  State.  If  the  eleven  South 
ern  States  are  resolved  and  determined  to  leave  the 
Union,  to  secede,  to  revolutionize,  and  can  maintain 
that  revolution  by  force,  they  have  revolutionary  right 
to  do  so.  Grant  it.  I  stand  on  that  platform  with  the 
gentleman. 

"  And  now  the  question  comes,  is  it  our  constitutional 
duty  to  let  them  do  it  ?  That  is  the  question.  And 
in  order  to  reach  it,  I  beg  to  call  your  attention,  not  to 
argument,  but  to  the  condition  of  affairs  that  would 
result  from  such  action  — the  mere  statement  of  which 
becomes  the  strongest  possible  argument.  What  does 
this  gentleman  propose  ?  Where  will  he  draw  the  line 
of  division  ?  If  the  Rebels  carry  into  secession  what 
they  desire  to  carry,  if  their  revolution  envelops  as 
many  States  as  they  intend  it  shall  envelop,  if  they  draw 
the  line  where  Isham  G.  Harris,  the  Rebel  governor  of 
Tennessee,  in  the  Rebel  camp  near  our  lines,  told  Mr. 
Vallandigham  they  would  draw  it, —  along  the  line  of 
the  Ohio  and  Potomac, —  if  they  make  good  their  state 
ment  to  him,  that  they  will  never  consent  to  any  other 
line,  then  I  ask,  what  is  the  thing  the  gentleman  pro 
poses  to  do  ? 

"  He  proposes  to  leave  to  the  United  States  a  territory 
reaching  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  one  hun 
dred  miles  wide  in  the  center  !  From  Wellsville  on 
the  Ohio  to  Cleveland  on  the  lakes  is  one  hundred 
miles.  I  ask  you,  Mr.  Chairman,  if  there  be  a  man 
here  so  insane  as  to  suppose  that  the  American  people 
will  allow  their  magnificent,  national  proportions  to  be 
shorn  to  so  deformed  a  shape  as  this  ? 


SPEECHES  IiV  CONGRESS. 


237 


"  I  tell  you,  and  I  confess  it  here,  that  while  I  hope  I 
have  something  of  human  courage,  I  have  not  enough 
to  contemplate  such  a  result.  I  am  not  brave  enough 
to  go  to  the  precipice  of  successful  secession  and  look 
down  into  its  damned  abyss.  If  my  vision  was  keen 
enough  to  pierce  to  its  bottom,  I  would  not  dare  to 
*.cok.  If  there  is  a  man  here  who  dare  contemplate 
uch  a  scene,  I  look  upon  him  either  as  the  bravest  of 
^he  sons  of  women,  or  as  a  downright  madman.  Seces- 
iion  to  gain  peace  !  Secession  is  the  tocsin  of  eternal 
var.  There  can  be  no  end  to  such  a  war  as  will  be  in- 
mgurated,  if  this  thing  be  done. 

"  Suppose  the  policy  of  the  gentleman  were  adopted 
co-day.  Let  the  order  go  forth  ;  sound  the  '  recall '  on 
your  bugles,  and  let  it  ring  from  Texas  to  the  far  At 
lantic,  and  tell  the  armies  to  come  back.  Call  the  vic 
torious  legions  back  over  the  battlefield  of  blood  for 
ever  now  disgraced.  Call  them  back  over  the  territory 
\vhich  they  have  conquered.  Call  them  back,  and  let 
the  minions  of  secession  chase  them  with  derision  and 
jeers  as  they  come.  And  then  tell  them  that  the  man 
across  the  aisle,  from  the  free  State  of  Ohio,  gave  birth 
to  the  monstrous  proposition. 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  if  such  a  word  should  be  sent  forth 
through  the  armies  of  the  Union,  the  wave  of  terrible 
vergeance  that  would  sweep  back  over  this  land  could 
never  find  a  parallel  in  the  records  of  history.  Almost 
in  the  moment  of  final  victory,  the  '  recall'  is  sounded 
by  a  craven  people  not  desiring  freedom.  We  ought 
every  man  to  be  made  a  slave  should  we  sanction  such 
a  sentiment 


238  JAMES  A.   GARFTELD. 

"  The  gentleman  has  told  us  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
coercion  justifiable  under  the  Constitution.  I  ask  him 
ror  one  moment  to  reflect,  that  no  statute  ever  was  en 
forced  without  coercion.  It  is  the  basis  of  every  law 
Jn  the  universe,  —  God's  law  as  well  as  man's.  A  law 
is  no  law  without  coercion  behind  it.  When  a  man  has 
murdered  his  brother,  coercion  takes  the  murderer, 
tries  him,  and  hangs  him.  When  you  levy  your  taxes, 
coercion  secures  their  collection  ;  it  follows  the  shadow 
of  the  thief  and  brings  him  to  justice  ;  it  accompanies 
your  diplomacy  to  foreign  courts,  and  backs  a  declara 
tion  of  the  nation's  right  by  a  pledge  of  the  nation's 
power.  Again,  he  tells  us  that  oaths  taken  under  the 
amnesty  proclamation  are  good  for  nothing.  The  oath 
of  Galileo  was  not  binding  upon  him.  I  am  reminded 
of  another  oath  that  was  taken  ;  but  perhaps  it  was  an 
oath  on  the  lips  alone  to  which  the  heart  made  no  re 
sponse. 

"  I  remember  to  have  stood  in  a  line  of  nineteen  men 
on  that  carpet  yonder  on  the  first  day  of  the  session, 
and  I  remember  that  another  oath  was  passed  round 
and  each  member  signed  it  as  provided  by  law,  utterly 
repudiating  the  rebellion  and  its  pretenses.  Does  that 
gentleman  not  blush  to  speak  of  Galileo's  oath  ?  Was 
not  his  own  its  counterpart  ? 

"  He  says  that  the  Union  can  never  be  restored  be 
cause  of  the  terrible  hatred  engendered  by  the  war. 
To  prove  it  he  quotes  what  some  Southern  man  said  a 
few  years  ago,  that  he  knew  no  hatred  between  people 
in  the  world  like  that  between  the  North  and  the  South. 


SPEECHES  IN  CONGRESS. 


239 


And  yet  that  North  and  South  have  been  one  nation 
for  eighty-eight  years  ! 

"  Have  we  seen  in  this  contest  anything  more  bitter 
than  the  wars  of  the  Scottish  border  ?  Have  we  seen 
anything  more  bitter  than  those  terrible  feuds  in  the 
days  of  Edward  when  England  and  Scotland  were  the 
deadliest  foes  on  earth  \  And  yet  for  centuries  those 
countries  have  been  cemented  in  an  indissoluble  union 
that  has  made  the  British  nation  one  of  the  proudest 
of  the  earth  ! 

"  I  said  a  little  while  ago  that  I  accepted  the  propo 
sition  of  the  gentleman  that  rebels  had  the  right  of 
revolution  ;  and  the  decisive  issue  between  us  and  the 
rebellion  is,  whether  they  shall  revolutionize  and  de 
stroy,  or  we  shall  subdue  and  preserve.  We  take  the  lat 
ter  ground.  We  take  the  common  weapons  of  war  to 
meet  them  ;  and  if  these  be  not  sufficient,  I  would  take 
any  element  which  will  overwhelm  and  destroy  ;  I  would 
sacrifice  the  dearest  and  best  beloved  ;  I  would  take  all 
the  old  sanctions  of  law  and  the  Constitution  and  fling 
them  to  the  winds,  if  necessary,  rather  than  let  the  na 
tion  be  broken  in  pieces  and  its  people  destroyed  with 
endless  ruin. 

"  What  is  the  Constitution  that  these  gentlemen  are 
perpetually  flinging  in  our  faces  whenever  we  desire 
to  strike  hard  blows  against  the  rebellion  ?  It  is  the 
production  of  the  American  people.  They  made  it ;  and 
the  creator  is  mightier  than  the  creature.  The  power 
which  made  the  Constitution  can  also  make  other  in 
struments  to  do  its  great  work  in  the  day  of  dire 
necessity." 


240  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

MR.  ELDRIDGE.  "I  desire  to  ask  the  gentleman  a 
question.  I  want  to  know  if  he  did  not  just  say  that 
with  nineteen  others  he  stepped  forward  to  the  speak 
er's  desk  and  swore  to  support  the  Constitution  ? " 

MR.  GARFIELD.  "  I  did  ;  and  I  am  very  happy  the  gen 
tleman  has  reminded  me  of  it  at  this  time  ;  and  I  remem 
ber  in  the  very  preamble  of  that  Constitution,  it  is  de 
clared  to  be  ordained  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  the 
general  welfare  and  providing  for  the  common  defense  ; 
and  on  that  very  ground,  based  on  that  very  statement 
of  its  declared  object,  I  not  only  lifted  up  my  hand  to 
swear  to  support  that  Constitution  before  God,  but  it 
makes  me  now  sorry  that  there  had  not  been  a  sword 
in  it  when  I  lifted  it  up,  against  any  and  all  who  would 
oppose  the  use  of  all  the  means  God  has  placed  in  our 
power  for  overthrowing  the  rebellion  for  ever. 

"  I  am  reminded  here  of  a  fact  which  I  had  well-nigh 
forgotten.  Last  summer  I  remember  a  Union  spy 
came  to  camp  bringing  letters  addressed  to  '  Major- 
General  John  C.  Breckenridge,  C.  S.  A.'  They  were  let 
ters  of  introduction,  stating  that  the  bearer  desired  to 
obtain  a  position  in  the  Rebel  army,  and  commending 
him  as  a  gallant  and  reliable  man  whom  Breckenridge 
could  trust.  One  of  these  letters  was  signed  by  a  man 
who  lately  held  a  seat  in  this  House."  [Cries  of  '  Name 
him  !'  from  the  Democratic  side  of  the  house.] 

MR.  GARFIELD.  "  I  will  produce  the  letter  in  due 
time.  It  is  not  here  with  me.  The  other  letter  was 
from  an  associate  of  his,  prominent  in  the  local  Demo 
cratic  politics  of  Indiana.  I  am  responsible  for  pro 
ducing  those  letters."  [Cries  of  '  Name.'] 


SPEECHES  IN  CONGRESS.  24! 

MR.  HOLMAN.  "  I  hope  the  gentleman  will  give  the 
names  now." 

MR.  GARFIELD.  "  When  I  produce  the  letters,  any 
further  testimony  that  may  be  called  for  can  be  had  at 
my  hands. 

"  Mr.  Chairman  :  Let  me  mention  another  class  of 
facts  in  this  same  connection.  We  were  compelled  last 
year  to  send  our  secret-service  men  to  ferret  out  the 
insidious  work  of  that  organization  known  as  the 
'  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle/  which  was  attempt 
ing  to  corrupt  the  army  and  destroy  its  efficiency  ;  and 
it  was  found,  by- the  most  subtle  and  secret  means,  the 
signs  and  passwords  of  that  order  were  being  made 
known  to  such  men  in  the  army  as  were  disaffected,  or 
could  be  corrupted.  Witness  also  the  riots  and  mur 
ders  their  agents  are  committing  throughout  the  loyal 
North,  under  the  lead  and  guidance  of  the  party,  whose 
representatives  sit  yonder  across  the  aisle  ;  and  now, 
just  as  the  time  is  coming  on  when  we  are  to  select  a 
President  for  the  next  four  years,  one  rises  among 
them  and  fires  the  beacon,  throws  up  the  blue-light 
which  will  be  seen  and  rejoiced  over  at  the  Rebel  capi- 
tol  in  Richmond,  as  the  signal  that  the  traitors  in  our 
camp  are  organized  and  ready  for  their  hellish  work. 
I  believe  that  the  utterance  of  to-day  is  the  uplifted' 
banner  of  revolt.  I  ask  you  to  mark  the  signal  that 
blazes  here,  and  see  if  there  will  not  soon  appear  the 
answering  signals  of  traitors  all  over  the  land.  If  I  am 
wrong  in  this  prediction  I  shall  be  thankful,  but  I 
am  only  too  fearful  of  its  truth. 

"  Let  me  say,  in  conclusion,  if  these  men  do  mean  to 
16 


242  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

light  the  torch  of  war  in  all  our  homes  ;  if  they  have 
resolved  to  begin  the  fearful  work  which  will  redden 
our  streets  and  this  capitol  with  blood,  the  American 
people  should  know  it  at  once,  and  prepare  to  meet  it." 

REPLY  TO  FERNANDO  WOOD. 

When  the  war  closed,  the  great  question  of  recon 
struction  came  before  the  country,  What  should  be 
the  status  of  the  freedmen  ?  Upon  this  question 
General  Garfield  took  strong  ground  in  favor  of  giving 
them  all  the  rights  of  citizenship.  Along  with  this 
question  was  the  Constitutional  amendment  prohibit 
ing  slavery  in  the  domain  of  the  United  States  for  all 
coming  time.  It  seems  strange  to  us,  and  it  will  be  a 
marvel  to  coming  generations  in  turning  over  the  his 
tory  of  our  own  times,  to  learn  that  the  leader  of  the 
Democratic  party  —  a  citizen  of  New  York  —  Fer 
nando  Wood,  made  a  speech  in  defense  of  the  institu 
tion  of  slavery  ;  that  a  great  political  party,  of  which 
he  was  the  exponent,  would  have  ignored  the  logic  of 
events,  turned  back  the  hands  upon  Time's  dial,  and 
restored  the  Southern  States  as  they  were  before  the 
war,  with  slavery  and  all  its  iniquities.  How  the  fol 
lowing  sentences  go  through  such  a  speech  as  that  of 
Fernando  Wood,  like  shot  from  a  rifled  cannon  through 
a  worm-eaten  hulk  ! 

"  All  along  the  coast  of  our  political  sea  these  victims 
of  slavery  lie  like  stranded  wrecks,  broken  on  the  head 
lands  of  freedom.  How  lately  did  its  advocates,  with 
impious  boldness,  maintain  it  as  God's  own,  to  be  ven- 


SPEECHES   IN   CONGRESS.  243 

crated  and  cherished  as  divine.  It  was  another  and 
higher  form  of  civilization.  In  its  mad  arrogance  it 
lifted  its  hand  to  strike  down  the  fabric  of  the  Union, 
and  since  that  fatal  day  it  has  been  a  fugitive  and  vag 
abond  upon  the  earth.  It  has  sought  in  all  the  cor 
ners  of  the  Republic  to  find  some  hiding-place  in  which 
to  shelter  itself  from  the  death  it  so  richly  deserves.  It 
sought  an  asylum  in  the  untrodden  Territories  of  the 
West,  but,  with  a  whip  of  scorpions,  indignant  freemen 
drove  it  thence.  I  do  not  believe  that  a  loyal  man  can 
now  be  found  who  would  consent  that  it  should  again 
enter  them.  It  has  no  hopes  of  harbor  there.  It  found 
no  protection  or  favor  in  the  hearts  or  consciences  of 
the  freemen  of  the  Republic,  and  has  fled  for  its  last 
hope  of  safety  behind  the  shield  of  the  Constitution. 
We  propose  to  follow  it  there,  and  drive  it  thence  as 
Satan  was  exiled  from  heaven." 

THE  FREEDMEN. 

How  vivid  Gen.  Garfield's  convictions  of  Liberty, 
Justice,-  and  the  Rights  of  Man  !  The  diamond  does 
not  reflect  a  clearer  light  than  the  words  which  illumine 
the  accompanying  paragraph  in  regard  to  the  rights 
of  the  freedmen  : 

"  In  the  extremity  of  our  distress  we  called  upon  the 
black  man  to  help  us  save  the  Republic,  and  amid  the 
very  thunder  of  battle  we  made  a  covenant  with  him, 
sealed  both  with  his  blood  and  ours,  and  witnessed  by 
Jehovah,  that  when  the  nation  was  redeemed  he  should 
be  free  and  share  with  us  the  glories  and  blessings  of 
freedom.  In  the  solemn  words  of  the  great  Proclama- 


244  JAMES   A.   GAR  FIELD. 

tion  of  Emancipation,  we  not  only  declared  the  slaves 
forever  free,  but  we  pledged  the  faith  of  the  nation  to 
maintain  their  freedom  —  mark  the  words, '  to  maintain 
their  freedom.'  The  Omniscient  witness  will  appear  in 
judgment  against  us  if  we  do  not  fulfil  that  covenant. 
Have  we  done  it  ?  Have  we  given  freedom  to  the  black 
man  ?  What  is  freedom  ?  Is  it  a  mere  negation  ? 
The  bare  privilege  of  not  being  chained,  bought  and 
sold,  branded  and  scourged  ?  If  this  be  all,  then  free 
dom  is  a  bitter  mockery,  a  cruel  delusion,  and  it  may 
well  be  questioned  whether  slavery  were  not  better. 
But  liberty  is  no  negation  It  is  a  substantial,  tangi 
ble  reality.  It  is  the  realization  of  those  imperisha 
ble  truths  of  the  declaration,  that  all  men  are  created 
equal ;  that  the  sanction  of  all  just  government  is 
the  consent  of  the  governed.  Can  these  truths  be 
realized  till  each  man  has  a  right  to  be  heard  on  all 
matters  relating  to  himself?  We  have  passed  the  Red 
Sea  of  slaughter ;  our  garments  are  yet  wet  with  its 
crimson  spray.  WTe  have  crossed  the  fearful  wilderness 
of  war,  and  have  left  our  four  hundred  thousand  he 
roes  to  sleep  beside  the  dead  enemies  of  the  Republic. 
We  have  heard  the  voice  of  God  amid  the  thunders  of 
battle,  commanding  us  to  wash  our  hands  of  iniquity, 
to  proclaim  liberty  throughout  all  the  land  unto  all  the 
inhabitants  thereof.  When  we  spurned  His  counsels 
we  were  defeated,  and  the  gulfs  of  ruin  yawned  before 
us.  When  we  obeyed  His  voice  He  gave  us  victory. 
And  now  at  last  we  have  reached  the  confines  of  the 
wilderness.  Before  us  is  the  land  of  promise,  the  land 
of  hope,  the  land  of  peace,  filled  with  possibilities  of 


SPEECHES  IN    CONGRESS. 


245 


greatness  and  glory  too  vast  for  the  grasp  of  the  imagi 
nation.  Are  we  worthy  to  enter  it  ?  On  what  con 
dition  may  it  be  ours  to  enjoy  and  transmit  to  our 
children's  children  ?  Let  us  pause  and  make  delib 
erate  and  solemn  preparation.  Let  us,  as  representa 
tives  of  the  people  whose  servants  we  are,  bear  in 
advance  the  sacred  ark  of  republican  liberty,  with  its 
tables  of  the  law  inscribed  with  the  'irreversible  guar 
antees  '  of  liberty.  Let  us  here  build  a  monument  on 
which  shall  be  written  not  only  the  curses  of  the  law 
against  treason,  disloyalty,  and  oppression,  but  also  an 
everlasting  covenant  of  peace  and  blessing  with  loy 
alty,  liberty,  and  obedience,  and  all  the  people  will  say 
Amen." 

STATE  SOVEREIGNTY. 

When  secession  lighted  the  flames  of  civil  war,  the 
loyal  States  entered  upon  the  conflict  for  the  preser 
vation  of  the  Union  ;  and  they  accept  the  result  as 
demonstrating  to  the  world  that  the  United  States  is 
a  Nation.  Not  so  the  Southern  States  ;  not  so  the 
Democratic  party.  Ever  since  the  beginning  of  the 
conflict  of  ideas,  ever  since  the  formation  of  the 
Republican  party,  the  South  and  the  Democratic  party 
have  exalted  State  sovereignty  and  ignored  the  idea  of 
nationality.  There  is  no  mistaking  the  position  of 
General  Garfield  upon  this  question.  He  fought  for 
the  nation,  and  these  are  his  burning  words  in  a  speech 
on  Federal  Authority  : 

"  Do  these  elements  belong  to  any  State  of  this  re 
public  ?  Sovereignty  has  the  right  to  declare  war. 


246  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

Can  New  Jersey  declare  war?  It  has  the  right  to 
conclude  peace.  Can  New  Jersey  conclude  peace  ? 
Sovereignty  has  the  right  to  coin  money.  If  the 
legislature  of  New  Jersey  should  authorize  and  com 
mand  one  of  its  citizens  to  coin  a  half  dollar,  that  man 
if  he  made  it,  though  it  should  be  of  solid  silver,  would 
be  locked  up  in  a  felon's  cell  for  the  crime  of  counter 
feiting  the  coin  of  the  real  sovereign.  A  sovereign 
has  the  right  to  make  treaties  with  foreign  nations. 
Has  New  Jersey  the  right  to  make  treaties  ?  Sover 
eignty  is  clothed  with  the  right  to  regulate  commerce 
with  foreign  states.  New  Jersey  has  no  such  right. 
Sovereignty  has  the  right  to  put  ships  in  commission 
upon  the  high  seas.  Should  a  ship  set  sail  under  the 
authority  of  New  Jersey  it  would  be  seized  as  a  smug 
gler,  forfeited  and  sold.  Sovereignty  has  a  flag.  But, 
thank  God,  New  Jersey  has  no  flag  ;  Ohio  has  no  flag. 
No  loyal  State  fights  under  the  '  lone  star,'  '  the  rattle 
snake/  or  the  '  palmetto  tree.'  No  loyal  State  of  this 
Union  has  any  flag  but  the  banner  of  beauty  and  of 
glory,  the  flag  of  the  Union.  These  are  the  indispen 
sable  elements  of  sovereignty.  New  Jersey  has  not  one 
of  them.  The  term  cannot  be  applied  to  the  separate 
States  save  in  a  very  limited  and  restricted  sense,  re 
ferring  mainly  to  municipal  and  police  regulations. 
The  rights  of  the  States  should  be  jealousy  guarded 
and  defended.  But  to  claim  that  sovereignty,  in  its  full 
sense  and  meaning,  belongs  to  the  States,  is  nothing 
better  than  rankest  treason." 


TRIBUTE   TO   GENERAL  ROSECRANS        24? 


XXII. 
TRIBUTE   TO   GENERAL   ROSECRANS. 

THERE  is  an  unwritten  law  in  Congress  that  a  new 
member  must  not  take  part  in  debates  ;  that  he 
must  wait  awhile  before  allowing  his  voice  to  be  heard. 
It  is  the  same  feeling  that  manifests  itself  on  the 
college  campus  —  the  question  of  hats  and  canes  be 
tween  Freshmen  and  Sophomores ;  but  there  are 
individuals  on  the  campus  and  in  legislatures  who  are 
endowed  with  sufficient  power  to  break  over  unwritten 
laws.  General  Garfield  from  the  first  made  his  influ 
ence  felt  in  the  Representatives'  Hall.  He  at  once 
entered  the  arena  of  debate  and  became  the  compeer 
of  Thaddeus  Stevens,  E.  B.  Washburn,  James  G.  Elaine, 
Nathaniel  P.  Banks,  Roscoe  Conkling,  and  the  old  lead 
ers  of  the  Republican  party  in  Congress. 

In  February,  1864,  a  joint  resolution  of  thanks  to 
Major-General  George  H.  Thomas  and  the  officers 
under  his  command  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  was 
introduced.  General  Garfield  regarded  it  as  invidious. 
To  pass  such  a  resolution  would  be  a  slight  upon  his 
old  chief,  General  Rosecrans.  Possibly  it  was  not  in 
tended  to  be  so  regarded,  but  such  would  be  its  effect 
in  the  estimation  of  the  public.  Possibly  the  Wai 


248  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

department  intended  it  to  be  a  reflection  upon  Rose- 
crans,  who  was  not  liked  by  Halleck.  There  had  been 
many  passages  at  arms  between  them  before  and  dur 
ing  the  Chickamauga  campaign.  General  Garfield,  as 
chief  of  staff,  had  done  much  to  soften  asperities  ; 
but  after  Chickamauga,  Rosecrans  had  been  deprived 
of  his  command,  and  Grant,  fresh  from  Vicksburg,  was 
appointed  to  succeed  him.  Rosecrans  turned  over  his 
command  gracefully,  but  keenly  felt  his  displacement 
nevertheless.  The  public  demanded  another  commander, 
and  the  exigencies  of  the  service  made  it  imperative 
that  to  a  general  of  greater  energy  and  force  should 
be  given  the  task  of  driving  Bragg  from  the  Tennessee 
back  upon  Atlanta. 

General  Garfield  saw  that  exigency  as  clearly  as  any 
body  else  ;  but  to  pass  a  vote  of  thanks  to  General 
Thomas  and  the  officers  of  his  command  was  in  fact 
to  censure  Rosecrans,  Sheridan,  Davis,  and  all  the 
other  division  commanders  who  did  their  duty  nobly 
and  effectively  in  that  struggle.  To  leave  out  Granger 
and  Steedman  would  have  been  especially  invidious  ; 
for  had  it  not  been  for  their  arrival,  Thomas  would  have 
unquestionably  been  driven  from  his  position,  and  the 
balile  would  have  resulted  in  disaster. 

The  public  had  been  misled  in  regard  to  the  batilc  ; 
it  was  regarded  as  a  defeat.  Rosecrans's  own  despatch 
had  given  a  wrong  impression  at  the  outset,  which  the 
later  intelligence  never  removed.  Quite  likely  most 
people  to-day,  if  asked  in  regard  to  Chickamauga, 
would  say  that  Rosecrans  was  defeated,  not  distin 
guishing  between  the  battle  and  the  campaign. 


TRIBUTE   TO  GENERAL  ROSECRANS. 


249 


General  Garfield  had  received  the  commendation  of 
the  President  —  the  appointment  of  Major-General- 
The  public  did  not  know  that  he  had  planned  the 
campaign  and  was  entitled  to  double  honor ;  it  only 
knew  that  he  had  done  his  whole  duty  gallantly  and 
bravely.  But  General  Garfield  had  too  high  a  sense 
of  honor  to  sit  silent  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
and  permit  the  passage  of  a  resolution  which,  while 
rightly  doing  honor  to  General  Thomas  and  his  com 
mand,  by  implication  would  be  a  censure  upon  Rose- 
crans  and  all  the  other  division  and  brigade  command 
ers  and  their  men.  The  time  had  come  for  him  to 
speak.  He  would  stand  by  his  old  commander,  by 
the  Division  and  Brigade  commanders. 

The  resolution  was  read  a  first  and  second  time. 
General  Garfield  addressed  the  chair.  "  Mr.  Speaker  : 
Is  it  in  order  to  move  an  amendment  to  that  resolu 
tion  ? " 

"  It  is." 

"  Then  I  move  to  amend  by  inserting  the  name  of 
Major-General  W.  S.  Rosecrans  before  that  of  General 
Thomas,  so  that  it  will  read  '  To  Major-General  W.  S. 
Rosecrans  and  Major-General  George  H.  Thomas,  and 
to  the  officers  and  men  under  them.'  " 

MR.  WILSON.  I  believe  that  this  house  has  already 
passed  a  joint  resolution  of  thanks  to  General  Rose 
crans. 

MR.  GARFIELD.     The  gentleman  is  mistaken. 

MR.  STEVENS.  We  had  better  wait  and  have  a  sepa 
rate  resolution  for  General  Rosecrans. 

MR.  FARNSWORTH.    So  I  think.    I  believe  that  these 


250  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

resolutions  ought,  to  stand  each  by  itself.  This  is  a 
special  resolution  of  thanks  to  the  officers  and  men 
who  fought  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  and  I  am  not 
prepared,  with  the  information  I  have  in  regard  to  that 
battle,  to  vote  for  or  against  a  resolution  of  thanks  to 
Major-General  Rosecrans.  At  all  events  it  seems  to  me 
that  each  resolution  should  be  acted  upon  separately. 

MR.  GARFIELD.  "Mr.  Speaker,  I  regret  that  this  res 
olution  has  come  before  the  House  of  Representatives 
as  it  is  now  presented.  I  had  hoped  I  should  not  be 
compelled  to  refer  publicly  to  the  matters  involved  in 
it;  and  before  I'speak  to  the  merits  of  the  resolution 
itself,  I  must  be  indulged  in  the  expression  of  my 
opinion  in  regard  to  the  custom  which  is  growing  up 
in  this  body  in  reference  to  this  class  of  resolutions. 
The  practice  of  this  House  during  the  brief  period  in 
which  I  have  been  a  member  led  me  to  fear  that  the 
thanks  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  were  be 
coming  too  cheap  an  article  in  the  eulogistic  literature 
of  the  world.  Time  was  when  a  man  must  stand 
grandly  pre-eminent  in  the  estimation  and  affection 
of  the  American  people  to  receive  through  the  solemn 
forms  of  law  the  thanks  of  the  nation  through  its 
representatives  in  Congress  assembled.  To  merit 
that  was  worth  a  lifetime  of  sacrifice  and  heroism. 
We  have  changed  this  worthy  custom.  Since  this 
session  began  many  resolutions  of  thanks  have  been 
passed  without  being  referred  to  the  appropriate  com 
mittees,  without  remarks,  and  almost  without  notice. 
They  have  been  passed  tacitly  by  a  kind  of  common 
consent.  We  have  not  only  thanked  officers  who  were 


TRIBUTE    TO    GENERAL  ROSECRANS.       2$! 

chiefs  of  armies,  but  also  those  who  held  subordinate 
positions  in  the  various  armies  of  the  republic.  No 
question  has  been  asked  whether  the  officer  was  en 
titled  to  this  distinction,  or  whether  by  thanking  one, 
another  was  not  robbed  of  his  merited  honor.  I  repeat 
that  I  have  seen  these  things  with  a  feeling  that  we 
are  cheapening  the  thanks  of  Congress  by  distributing 
them  without  discrimination,  without  question.  I  have 
been  so  willing  to  thank  any  man  who  has  served  the 
country  in  this  war,  that  I  have  not  felt  to  interpose 
objection. 

"  In  many  of  the  instances  referred  to,  I  have  had  no 
knowledge  of  the  merits  of  the  case.  But  when  it 
comes  so  close  to  my  own  experience  and  knowledge 
of  the  history  of  the  war,  I  cannot  permit  a  resolution 
of  this  kind  to  pass  without  my  protest  against  this 
hasty  and  thoughtless  style  of  legislation.  I  have  been 
surprised  that  the  honorable  members  of  this  House 
should  treat  so  lightly  the  matters  involved  in  thanking 
the  public  servants  of  the  nation.  I  now  appeal  to 
your  sense  of  justice,  whether  it  be  right  to  single  out 
a  subordinate  officer,  give  him  the  thanks  of  Congress, 
and  pass  his  chief  in  silence.  On  what  ground  are 
you  now  ready  to  ignore  the  man  who  has  won  so 
many  of  the  proudest  victories  ?  I  do  not  believe  that 
such  is  the  purpose  or  wish  of  this  House. 

"  This  resolution  proposes  to  thank  Major-General 
Thomas  and  the  officers  and  men  under  his  command 
for  gallant  service  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga.  It 
meets  my  hearty  approval  for  what  it  contains,  but  my 
protest  for  what  it  does  not  contain.  I  should  be 


JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

recreant  to  my  own  sense  of  justice  did  I  allow  this 
omission  to  pass  without  notice.  No  man  here  is  ready 
to  say  —  and  if  there  be  such  a  man  I  am  ready  to 
meet  him  —  that  the  thanks  of  this  Congress  are  not 
due  to  Major-General  W.  S.  Rosecrans  for  the  cam 
paign  which  culminated  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga. 
It  is  not  uncommon  throughout  the  press  of  the 
country,  and  among  many  people,  to  speak  of  that 
battle  as  a  disaster  to  the  army  of  the  United  States, 
and  to  treat  of  it  as  a  defeat.  If  that  battle  was  a 
defeat,  we  may  welcome  a  hundred  such  defeats.  I 
should  be  glad  i-f  each  of  our  armies  would  repeat 
Chickamauga.  Twenty  such  would  destroy  the  Rebel 
army  and  the  Confederacy  forever. 

"  What  was  that  battle,  terminating  as  it  did  a  great 
campaign  whose  object  was  to  drive  the  Rebel  army 
beyond  the  Tennessee,  and  to  obtain  a  foothold  on  the 
south  bank  of  that  river,  which  should  form  the  basis 
of  future  operations  in  the  Gulf  States  ?  We  had 
never  yet  crossed  that  river,  except  far  below  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Corinth.  Chattanooga  was  the  gate 
way  of  the  Cumberland  Mountains,  and  until  we 
crossed  that  river  and  held  the  gateway,  we  could 
not  commence  operations  in  Georgia.  The  army  was 
ordered  to  cross  the  river,  to  grasp  and  hold  the  key 
of  the  Cumberland  Mountains.  It  did  cross,  in  the 
face  of  superior  numbers ;  and  after  two  days  of  fight 
ing,  more  terrible,  I  believe,  than  any  since  this  war 
began,  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  hurled  back,  dis 
comfited  and  repulsed,  the  combined  power  of  three 
Rebel  armies,  gained  the  key  to  the  Cumberland  Moun- 


TRIBUTE   TO   GENERAL   ROSECRANS.       2$3 

tains,  gained  Chattanooga,  and  held  it  against  every 
assault.  If  there  has  been  a  more  substantial  success 
against  overwhelming  odds,  since  this  war  began,  I 
have  not  heard  of  it. 

"  We  have  had  victories  —  God  be  thanked  —  all  along 
the  line,  but  in  the  history  of  this  war  I  know  of  no 
such  battle  against  such  numbers  :  forty  thousand 
against  an  army  of  not  less  by  a  man  than  seventy-five 
thousand.  After  the  disaster  to  the  right  wing  in  the 
last  bloody  afternoon  of  September  20,  twenty-five 
thousand  men  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  stood 
and  met  seventy-five  thousand  hurled  against  them. 
And  they  stood  in  their  bloody  tracks  immovable  and 
victorious  when  night  threw  its  mantle  around  them. 
They  had  repelled  the  last  assault  of  the  Rebel,  army. 
Who  commanded  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  ?  Who 
organized,  disciplined,  and  led  it  ?  Who  planned  its 
campaigns  ?  The  general  whose  name  is  omitted  in 
this  resolution,  —  Major-General  W.  S.  Rosecrans. 

"  And  who  is  this  General  Rosecrans  ?  The  history 
of  your  country  tells  you,  and  your  children  know  it 
by  heart.  It  is  he  who  fought  battles  and  won  victo 
ries  in  Western  Virginia  under  the  shadow  of  another's 
name.  When  the  poetic  pretender  claimed  the  honor 
and  received  the  reward  as  the  author  of  Virgil's  stanzas 
in  praise  of  Caesar,  the  great  Mantuan  wrote  on  the 
walls  of  the  imperial  palace  : 

'  Hos  ego  versiciilos  fed,  tulit  alter  honores! 

"  So  might  the  hero  of  Rich  Mountain  say,  '  I  won 
this  battle,  but  another  has  worn  the  laurels.' 


254  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

11  From  Western  Virginia  he  went  to  Mississippi, 
and  there  won  the  battles  of  luka  and  Corinth,  which 
has  aided  materially  to  exalt  the  fame  of  that  general 
upon  whom  this  House  has  been  in  such  haste  to  con 
fer  the  proud  rank  of  Lieutenant-Geoeral  of  the  Army 
of  the  United  States,  but  who  was  not  upon  either  of 
these  battlefields. 

"  Who  took  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland, 
found  the  army  at  Bowling  Green,  in  November,  1862, 
as  it  lay  disorganized,  disheartened,  driven  back  from 
Alabama  and  Tennessee,  and  led  it  across  the  Cumber 
land,  planted  it -in  Nashville,  and  thence,  on  the  first 
day  of  the  New  Year,  planted  his  banners  at  Mur- 
freesboro',  in  torrents  of  blood,  and  in  the  moment  of 
our  extremest  peril,  throwing  himself  into  the  breach, 
saved  by  his  personal  valor  the  Army  of  the  Cumber 
land  and  the  hopes  of  the  Republic  ?  It  was  General 
Rosecrans.  From  the  day  he  assumed  the  command 
at  Bowling  Green,  the  history  of  that  army  may  be 
written  in  one  sentence,  —  it  advanced  and  maintained 
its  advanced  position, — and  its  last  campaign  under 
the  general  it  loved  was  the  bloodiest  and  most  bril 
liant.  The  fruits  of  Chickamauga  were  gathered  in 
November,  on  the  heights  of  Mission  Ridge  and  among 
the  clouds  of  Lookout  Mountain.  That  battle  at  Chat 
tanooga  was  a  glorious  one,  and  every  loyal  heart  was 
proud  of  it.  But,  sir,  it  was  won  when  we  had  nearly 
three  times  the  number  of  the  enemy.  It  ought  to  have 
been  won.  Thank  God  it  was  won  !  I  would  take  no 
laurel  from  the  brow  of  the  man  who  won  it,  but  I 
would  remind  gentlemen  here,  that  while  the  battle  of 


TRIBUTE    TO    GENERAL   ROSECRANS.       255 

Chattanooga  was  fought  with  vastly  superior  numbers 
on  our  part,  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  was  fought  with 
still  vaster  superiority  against  us. 

•'  If  there  is  any  man  upon  earth  whom  I  honor,  it  is 
the  man  who  is  named  in  this  resolution  —  General 
George  H.  Thomas.  I  had  occasion,  in  my  remarks  on 
the  conscription  bill  a  few  days  ago,  to  refer  to  him  in 
such  terms  as  I  delighted  to  use ;  and  I  say  to  gentle 
men  here  that  if  there  is  any  man  whose  heart  would  be 
hurt  by  the  passage  of  this  resolution  as  it  now  stands, 
that  man  is  General  George  H.  Thomas.  I  know,  and 
all  know,  that  he  deserves  well  of  his  country,  and  his 
name  ought  to  be  recorded  in  letters  of  gold  ;  but  I 
know  equally  well  that  General  Rosecrans  deserves 
well  of  his  country.  I  ask  you  then,  not  to  pain  the 
heart  of  a  noble  man,  who  will  be  burdened  with  the 
weight  of  these  thanks  that  wrong  his  brother  officer 
and  superior  in  command.  All  I  ask  is  that  you  will 
put  both  names  into  the  resolution,  and  let  them  stand 
side  by  side." 


256  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 


XXIII. 
REMARKS   ON   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

THE  young  man  who,  in  this  year,  1880,  is  about 
to  cast  his  first  vote,  knows  nothing  of  the  two 
greatest  griefs  ever  experienced  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  —  the  surrender  of  Fort  Sumter,  and 
the  assassination  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  The  grief 
over  the  humiliation  of  the  flag  of  the  nation  became  a 
mighty  transforming  power.  The  world  never  saw  a 
grander  flaming  up  of  patriotism  than  that  of  the  spring 
of  1861. 

It  was  a  grief,  however,  that  did  not  reach  beyond 
the  loyal  States.  The  aristocracy  of  England  could 
hardly  conceal  its  satisfaction  at  the  prospect  of  the 
crumbling  of  the  edifice  reared  by  Democracy.  Shop- 
keeping  England  rubbed  its  hands  in  glee  over  the 
prospect  of  large  gains  in  trade  with  the  Unionists  and 
Confederates. 

"  The  Great  Republic  is  gone,"  wrote  W.  H.  Russell, 
in  one  of  his  first  letters  to  the  London  Times,  and  the 
English  people  accepting  it  as  gospel  truth,  acted  ac 
cordingly.  Not  all  the  English  public,  however,  for 
Lancashire  never  faltered  in  its  faith  in  the  Republic. 
By  instinct  the  cotton  spinners  of  Rochdale  and  Old- 


REMARKS    ON  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ham  knew  that  the  struggle  of  the  Northern  States  was 
not  only  for  the  Union  but  for  human  rights,  and  even 
the  cotton  famine  and  starvation  could  not  swerve 
them  from  the  idea.  Their  grief  over  the  surrender  of 
Sumter  was  genuine,  but  beyond  Lancashire,  beyond 
the  laboring  classes  of  England  and  Germany,  there 
was  little  sorrowing  over  the  lowering  of  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  in  Charleston  harbor,  in  1861. 

Far  different  the  sorrow  of  1865  :  then  the  whole 
world  put  on  mourning.  There  was  scarcely  a  gov 
ernment  on  the  face  of  the  earth  that  did  not  make  for 
mal  expression  of  its  sympathy  —  from  Great  Britain 
and  China,  down  to  Tunis,  down  to  the  petty  duchies 
of  Baden  and  Saxe-Meiningen.  Legislative  bodies,  gov 
ernmental  departments,  municipalities,  gatherings  of 
citizens,  civic  associations,  religious  assemblies,  lodges, 
schools,  societies,  newspapers  of  every  country,  sent 
tributes  in  memory  of  the  martyred  President. 

The  London  Punch,  which  had  delighted  in  cari 
caturing  Abraham  Lincoln,  pictured  Britannia  laying 
immortelles  upon  his  bier  with  humble  confession  of 
past  wrong  : 

"  You  lay  a  wreath  on  murdered  Lincoln's  bier, 

Tou,  who  with  mocking  pencil  wont  to  trace, 
Broad  for  the  self-complacent  British  sneer, 

His  length  of  shambling  limbs,  his  furrowed  face. 

His  gaunt,  gnarled  hands,  his  unkempt,  bristling  hair, 
His  gait  uncouth,  his  bearing  ill  at  ease, 

His  lack  of  all  we  prize  as  debonair 

Of  power,  or  will  to  shine  or  art  to  please. 

17 


258  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

The  Old  World  and  the  New,  from  sea  to  sea, 
Utters  one  voice  of  sympathy  and  shame! 

Sore  heart,  so  stopped  when  it  at  last  beat  high, 
Sad  life,  cut  short  just  as  its  triumph  came." 

Pulpit  and  press  throughout  the  Northern  States 
voiced  the  nation's  grief. 

A  year  passed  and  the  anniversary  of  President  Lin 
coln's  death  came  round.  Congress  met  as  usual,  Lut 
before  any  business  was  transacted  General  Garfielcl 
rose  in  his  seat  and  moved  to  adjourn,  supporting  his 
motion  by  the  following  remarks  : 

"  MR.  SPEAKER  :  I  desire  to  move  that  this  House  do 
now  adjourn  ;  and  before  the  vote  upon  that  motion  is 
taken,  I  desire  to  say  a  few  words. 

"This  day,  Mr.  Speaker,  will  be  sadly  memorable  so 
long  as  this  nation  shall  endure,  which,  God  grant,  may 
be  *  till  the  last  syllable  of  recorded  time,'  when  the 
volume  of  human  history  shall  be  sealed  up  and  deliv 
ered  to  the  Omnipotent  Judge. 

"  In  all  future  time,  on  the  recurrence  of  this  day,  I 
doubt  not  that  the  citizens  of  this  Republic  will  meet  in 
solemn  assembly  to  reflect  on  the  life  and  character  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  and  the  awful  tragic  event  of  April 
14,  1865,  —  an  event  unparalleled  in  the  history  of 
nations,  certainly  unparalleled  in  our  own.  It  is  emi 
nently  proper  that  this  House  should  this  day  place 
upon  its  records  a  memorial  of  that  event. 

"  The  last  five  years  have  been  marked  by  wonder 
ful  developments  of  human  character.  Thousands  of 
our  people  before  unknown  to  fame,  have  taken  their 


REMARKS    ON  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.          259 

places  in  history,  crowned  with  immortal  honors.  In 
thousands  of  humble  homes  are  dwelling  heroes  and 
patriots,  whose  names  shall  never  die.  But  greatest 
among  all  these  developments  were  the  character  and 
fame  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  whose  loss  the  nation  still 
deplores.  His  character  is  aptly  described  in  the 
words  of  England's  great  laureate  —  written  thirty 
years  ago  —  in  which  he  traces  the  upward  steps  of 
some  — 

"  c  Divinely  gifted  man, 
Whose  life  in  low  estate  began, 
And  on  a  simple  village  green ; 

Who  breaks  his  birth's  invidious  bar, 
And  grasps  the  skirts  of  happy  chance, 
And  breasts  the  blow  of  circumstance, 
And  grapples  with  his  evil  star: 

Who  makes  by  force  his  merit  known, 
And  lives  to  clutch  the  golden  keys 
To  mold  a  mighty  State's  decrees, 
And  shape  the  whisper  of  the  throne  : 

And  moving  up  from  high  to  higher, 
Becomes  on  Fortune's  crowning  slope, 
The  pillar  of  a  people's  hope, 
The  center  of  a  world's  desire.' 

"  Such  a  life  and  character  will  be  treasured  forever 
as  the  sacred  possession  of  the  American  people  and 
of  mankind.  In  the  great  drama  of  the  rebellion,  there 
were  two  acts.  The  first  was  the  war,  with  its  battles 
and  sieges,  victories  and  defeats,  its  sufferings  and 
tears.  That  act  was  closing  one  year  ago  to-night,  and 
just  as  the  curtain  was  lifting  on  the  second  and  final 
act,  the  restoration  of  peace  and  liberty,  —  just  as  the 


260  JAMES  A.    GARFIELt). 

curtain  was  rising  upon  new  events  and  new  charac 
ters, —  the  evil  spirit  of  the  Rebellion,  in  the  fury  of 
despair,  nerved  and  directed  the  hand  of  the  assassin 
to  strike  down  the  chief  character  in  both. 

"  It  was  no  one  man  who  killed  Abraham  Lincoln  ;  it 
was  the  embodied  spirit  of  treason  and  slavery,  inspired 
with  fearful  and  despairing  hate,  that  struck  him  down 
in  the  moment  of  the  nation's  supremest  joy. 

"Ah,  sir,  there  are  times  in  the  history  .of  men  and 
nations  when  they  stand  so  near  the  veil  that  separates 
mortals  from  immortals,  time  from  eternity,  and  men 
from  their  God,  'that  they  can  almost  hear  the  beatings 
and  feel  the  pulsations  of  the  heart  of  the  Infinite  ! 
Through  such  a  time  has  this  nation  passed.  When 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  brave  spirits  passed 
from  the  field  of  honor  through  that  thin  veil  to  the 
presence  of  God,  and  when  at  last  its  parting  folds  ad 
mitted  the  martyr  President  to  the  company  of  the 
dead  heroes  of  the  Republic,  the  nation  stood  so  near 
the  veil  that  the  whispers  of  God  were  heard -by  the 
children  of  men. 

"  Awe-stricken  by  His  voice,  the  American  people 
knelt  in  tearful  reverence  and  made  a  solemn  covenant 
with  Him  and  with  each  other  that  this  nation  should 
be  saved  from  its  enemies,  that  all  its  glories  should  be 
restored,  and  on  the  ruins  of  treason  and  slavery  the 
temples  of  freedom  and  justice  should  be  built,  and 
should  survive  forever.  It  remains  for  us,  consecrated 
by  that  great  event,  and  under  a  covenant  with  God,  to 
keep  that  faith,  to  go  forward  in  the  great  work  until  it 
shall  be  completed. 


REMARKS    OX  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.          26l 

"  Following  the  lead  of  that  great  man,  and  obeying 
the  high  behests  of  God,  let  us  remember  that  — 

" '  He  has  sounded  forth  a  trumpet  that  shall  never  call  retreat; 
He  is  sifting  or.t  the  hearts  of  men  before  His  judgment-seat. 
Be  swift  my  s  jul  to  answer  him,  be  jubilant  my  feet; 
For  God  is  marching  on.'" 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  General  Garfield's  remarks 
the  motion  was  adopted,  and  the  House  adjourned. 


262  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 


XXIV. 

ADDRESSES. 

THE  world  worships  success.  In  1860  General 
Grant  was  unknown  beyond  the  streets  of  Ga 
lena ;  but  in  1880  the  whole  world  turns  out  to  honor 
him.  The  great  names  of  history  are  of  men  who 
have  succeeded  in  what  they  have  undertaken.  Peace 
hath  victories  mightier  than  those  of  the  sword.  Men 
are  beginning  to  estimate  victories  by  the  benefits 
which  they  confer  upon  the  human  race.  Not  in  the 
future,  as  in  the  past,  will  they  be  estimated  by  the 
number  of  soldiers  slain,  the  cannon  taken,  or  the  rout 
of  a  defeated  army,  but  by  what  men  can  do  for  their 
fellow-men. 

Bernard  Pallissy,  a  poor  potter  in  France,  saw  an 
enameled  cup  that  had  been  brought  from  Italy.  How 
was  the  glazing  put  on  ?  He  would  find  out.  It  is  this 
determination  to  accomplish  things  which  is  the  start 
ing-point  on  the  road  to  success.  Pallissy  built  a  fur 
nace,  made  experiments,  but  the  enamel  would  not 
fuse.  Six  nights  in  succession,  with  scarcely  a  wink  of 
sleep,  he  sat  beside  the  furnace.  His  fuel  was  gone. 
He  had  not  time  to  go  for  more,  nor  had  he  money  to 
buy  it.  He  broke  up  the  chairs  and  hurled  them  in, 


ADDERSSES.  363 

split  the  table  into  kindling-wood.  More  wood  !  More 
wood  !  He  rips  up  the  floor  and  feeds  the  flame.  His 
weeping  wife  thinks  him  a  lunatic.  Victory  !  The 
enamel  melts,  and  he  becomes  the  world's  benefactor. 

The  walks  of  life  are  illumined  by  such  successes. 
James  A.  Garfield  determined  to  be  a  teacher.  It  was 
a  "definite  object."  He  succeeded;  and  all  that  has 
followed  is  the  natural  outgrowth  of  his  determination. 
What  are  the  elements  of  success  ?  "  You  must  select 
your  work,"  says  Emerson  ;  "  you  shall  take  what  your 
brain  can  and  drop  all  the  rest."  No  one  is  so  compe 
tent  to  tell  us  how  to  succeed  as  he  who  has  succeeded, 
and  so  we  turn  to  an  address  given  by  General  Gar- 
field  before  the  Consolidated  Business  College  in 
Washington  in  1869,  on  the  Elements  of  Success. 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  I  have  consented 
to  address  you  this  evening  chiefly  for  two  reasons,  — 
one  of  them  personal  to  myself,  the  other  public.  The 
personal  reason  is,  that  I  have  a  deep  and  peculiar 
sympathy  with  young  people  who  are  engaged  in  any 
department  of  education.  Their  pursuits  are  to  me  not 
only  matters  of  deep  interest,  but  of  profound  mystery. 
It  will  not,  perhaps,  flatter  you  older  people  when  I  say 
I  have  less  interest  in  you  than  in  these  young  people. 
With  us,  the  great  questions  of  life  are  measurably  set 
tled.  Our  days  go  on,  their  shadows  lengthening  as  we 
approach  nearer  to  that  evening  which  will  soon  deepen 
into  the  night  of  life  ;  but  before  these  young  people 
are  the  dawn,  the  sunrise,  the  coming  noon  —  all  the 
wonders  and  mysteries  of  life.  For  ourselves,  much 


264  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

of  all  that  belongs  to  the  possibilities  of  life  is  ended, 
and  the  very  angels  look  down  upon  us  with  less  curi 
osity  than  these,  whose  lives  are  just  opening.  Pardon 
me,  then,  if  I  feel  more  interest  in  them  than  in  you. 

"  I  feel  a  profounder  reverence  for  a  boy  than  a  man. 
I  never  meet  a  ragged  boy  on  the  street  without  feeling 
that  I  owe  him  a  salute,  for  I  know  not  what  possibili 
ties  may  be  buttoned  up  under  his  shabby  coat.  When 
I  meet  you  in  the  full  flush  of  mature  life,  I  see  nearly 
all  there  is  of  you  ;  but  among  these  boys  are  the  great 
men  of  the  future,  —  the  heroes  of  the  next  generation, 
the  philosophers,  -the  statesmen,  the  philanthropists, 
the  great  reformers  and  molders  of  the  next  age. 
Therefore,  I  say,  there  is  a  peculiar  charm  to  me  in  the 
exhibitions  of  young  people  engaged  in  the  business 
of  education. 

"  The  people  are  making  a  grave  charge  against  our 
system  of  higher  education  when  they  complain  that  it 
is  disconnected  from  the  active  business  of  life.  It  is  a 
charge  to  which  our  colleges  cannot  plead  guilty  and 
live.  They  must  rectify  the  fault,  or  miserably  fail  of 
their  great  purpose.  There  is  scarcely  a  more  pitiable 
sight  than  to  see  here  and  there  learned  men,  so  called, 
who  have  graduated  in  our  own  and  the  universities  of 
Europe  with  high  honors,  —  men  who  know  the  whole 
gamut  of  classical  learning,  who  have  sounded  the 
depths  of  mathematical  and  speculative  philosophy, — 
and  yet  who  could  not  harness  a  horse  or  make  out  a 
bill  of  sale  if  the  world  depended  upon  it. 

"  The  fact  is  that  our  curriculum  of  college  studies 
was  not  based  on  modern  ideas  and  has  not  grown  up 


ADDRESSES. 


265 


to  our  modern  necessities.  The  prevailing  system  was 
established  at  a  time  when  the  learning  of  the  world 
was  in  Latin  and  Greek ;  when,  if  a  man  would  learn 
arithmetic,  he  must  first  learn  Latin  ;  and  if  he  would 
learn  the  history  and  geography  of  his  own  country,  he 
could  acquire  that  knowledge  only  through  the  Latin 
language.  Of  course,  in  those  days  it  was  necessary 
to  lay  the  foundation  of  learning  in  a  knowledge  of 
the  learned  languages.  The  universities  of  Europe, 
from  which  our  colleges  were  copied,  were  founded  be 
fore  the  modern  languages  were  born.  The  leading  lan 
guages  of  Europe  are  scarcely  six  hundred  years  old. 
The  reasons  for  a  course  of  study  then  are  not  good 
now.  The  old  necessities  have  passed  away.  We  now 
have  strong  and  noble  living  languages,  rich  in  litera 
ture,  replete  with  high  and  earnest  thought, — the  lan 
guage  of  science,  religion,  and  liberty,  —  and  yet  we  bid 
our  children  feed  their  spirits  on  the  life  of  dead  ages, 
instead  of  the  inspiring  life  and  vigor  of  our  own  times. 
I  do  not  object  to  classical  learning  ;  far  from  it ;  but 
I  would  not  have  it  exclude  the  living  present.  There 
fore  I  welcome  the  Business  College  in  the  form  it  has 
take*!  in  the  United  States,  because  it  meets  an  ac 
knowledged  want,  by  affording  to  young  people  of  only 
common  scholastic  attainments,  and  even  to  the  classes 
that  graduate  from  Harvard  and  Yale,  an  opportunity 
to  learn  important  and  indispensable  lessons  before 
they  go -out  into  the  business  of  life. 

"  The  present  chancellor  of  the  British  Exchequer, 
the  Right  Honorable  Robert  Lowe,  one  of  the  bright 
est  minds  in  that  kingdom,  said  in  a  recent  address  be- 


266  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

fore  the  venerable  University  of  Edinburgh  :  '  I  was  a 
few  months  ago  in  Paris,  and  two  graduates  of  Oxford 
went  with  me  to  get  our  dinner  at  a  restaurant,  and  if 
the  white-aproned  waiter  had  not  been  better  educated 
than  all  three  of  us,  we  might  have  starved  to  death. 
We  could  not  ask  for  our  dinner  in  his  language,  but 
fortunately  he  could  ask  us  in  our  own  language  what 
we  wanted.'  There  was  one  test  of  the  insufficiency 
of  modern  education. 

"  There  is  another  reason  why  I  am  glad  that  these 
Business  Colleges  have  been  established  in  this  coun 
try,  and  particularly  in  the  city  of  Washington.  If 
there  be  any  city  on  this  continent  where  such  institu 
tions  are  needed  more  than  in  any  other,  it  is  here  in 
this  city,  for  the  benefit  of  the  employes  of  the  United 
States. 

"  Allow  me,  young  ladies  and  gentlemen,  to  turn  aside 
for  one  moment  to  speak  of  what  relates  to  your  busi 
ness  life.  If  I  could  speak  one  sentence  which  would  be 
echoed  through  every  department  of  the  government, 
addressing  myself  not  to  those  in  middle  life  whose 
plans  for  the  future  are  fixed,  but  to  those  who  are  be 
ginning  life,  I  would  say  to  every  young  man  and  woman 
in  the  civil  service  of  the  government,  '  Hasten  by  the 
most  rapid  steps  to  get  out  of  these  departments  into 
active,  independent  business  life.'  Do  not  misunderstand 
me.  Your  work  is  honorable  —  honorable  to  yourselves 
and  necessary  to  the  government.  I  make  no  charge 
on  that  score  ;  but  to  a  young  man,  who  has  in  himself 
the  magnificent  possibilities  of  life,  it  is  not  fitting  that 
he  should  be  permanently  commanded  ;  he  should  be 


ADDRESSES. 


267 


a  con\mander.  You  must  not  continue  to  be  the  em 
ployed ;  you  must  be  an  employer.  You  must  be  pro 
moted  from  the  ranks  to  a  command.  There  is  some 
thing,  young  men,  which  you  can  command  —  go  and 
find  it,  and  command  it.  You  can  at  least  command  a 
horse  and  dray,  can  be  generalissimo  of  them,  and 
may  carve  out  a  fortune  with  them.  And  I  did  not  fall 
on  that  illustration  by  accident,  young  gentlemen.  Do 
you  know  the  fact  ?  If  you  do  not,  let  me  tell  it  you  : 
that  more  fortunes  have  been  won  and  fewer  failures 
known  in  the  dray  business  than  in  wholesale  mer 
chandising. 

"  Now,  young  gentlemen,  let  me  for  a  moment  ad 
dress  you,  touching  your  success  in  life  ;  and  I  hope 
the  very  brevity  of  my  remarks  will  increase  the  chance 
of  their  making  a  lodgment  in  your  minds.  Let  me 
beg  you,  in  the  outset  of  your  career,  to  dismiss  from 
your  minds  all  idea  of  succeeding  by  luck.  There  is  no 
more  common  thought  among  young  people  than  that 
foolish  one  that  by-and-by  something  will  turn  up  by 
which  they  will  suddenly  achieve  fame  or  fortune.  No, 
young  gentlemen  ;  things  don't  turn  up  in  this  world 
unless  somebody  turns  them -up.  Inertia  is  one  of  the 
indispensable  laws  of  matter,  and  things  lie  flat  where 
they  are  until  by  some  intelligent  spirit  (for  nothing  but 
spirit  makes  motion  in  this  world)  they  are  endowed 
with  activity  and  life.  Do  not  dream  that  some  good 
luck  is  going  to  happen  to  you  and  give  you  for 
tune.  Luck  is  an  ignis  fatuus.  You  may  follow  it  to 
ruin,  but  not  to  success.  The  great  Napoleon,  who  be 
lieved  in  his  destiny,  followed  it  until  he  saw  his  star  go 


268  JAMES  A.   GAP  FIELD. 

down  in  blackest  night,  when  the  Old  Guard  perished 
round  him,  and  Waterloo  was  lost.  A  pound  of  pluck 
is  worth  a  ton  of  luck. 

"  Young  men  talking  of  trusting  to  the  spur  of  the 
occasion  !  That  trust  is  vain.  Occasion  cannot  make 
spurs,  young  gentlemen.  If  you  expect  to  wear  spurs, 
you  must  win  them.  If  you  wish  to  use  them,  you 
must  buckle  them  to  your  own  heels  before  you  go  into 
the  fight.  Any  success  you  may  achieve  is  not  worth 
having,  unless  you  fight  for  it.  Whatever  you  win  in 
life  you  must  conquer  by  your  own  efforts,  and  then  it 
is  yours  —  a  part  of  yourself. 

"  Again  :  in  order  to  have  any  success  in  life,  or  any 
worthy  success,  you  must  resolve  to  carry  into  your 
work  a  fullness  of  knowledge  —  not  merely  a  sufficiency, 
but  more  than  a  sufficiency.  In  this  respect,  follow  the 
rule  of  the  machinists.  If  they  want  a  machine  to  do 
the  work  of  six  horses,  they  give  it  a  nine-horse  power, 
so  that  they  may  have  a  reserve  of  three.  To  carry  on 
the  business  of  life  you  must  have  surplus  power.  Be 
fit  for  more  than  the  thing  you  are  now  doing.  Let 
every  one  know  that  you  have  a  reserve  in  yourself ; 
that  you  have  more  power  than  you  are  now  using.  If 
you  are  not  too  large  for  the  place  you  occupy,  you  are 
too  small  for  it.  How  full  our  country  is  of  bright  ex 
amples  !  not  only  those  who  occupy  some  proud  emi 
nence  in  public  life,  but  in  every  place  you  find  men 
going  on  with  steady  nerve,  attracting 'the  attention  of 
their  fellow-citizens,  and  carving  out  for  themselves 
names  and  fortunes  from  small  and  humble  beginnings, 
and  in  face  of  formidable  obstacles.  Let  me  cite  an 


ADDRESSES. 


269 


example  of  a  man  I  recently  saw  in  the  little  village  of 
Norwich,  N.  Y.  If  you  wish  to  know  his  name,  go 
into  any  hardware  store  and  ask  for  the  best  hammer 
in  the  world,  and  if  the  salesman  bean  intelligent  man, 
he  will  bring  you  a  hammer  bearing  the  name  of  D. 
Maydole.  Young  gentlemen,  take  that  hammer  in  your 
hand,  drive  nails  with  it,  and  draw  inspiration  from  it. 

"  Thirty  years  ago  a  boy  was  struggling  through  the 
snows  of  the  Chenango  Valley,  trying  to  hire  himself 
to  a  blacksmith.  He  succeeded,  and  learned  his  trade ; 
but  he  did  more.  He  took  it  into  his  head  that  he 
could  make  a  better  hammer  than  any  other  man  had 
made.  He  devoted  himself  to  the  task  for  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  studied  the  chemistry  of 
metals,  the  strength  of  materials,  the  philosophy  of 
form.  He  studied  failures.  Each  broken  hammer 
taught  him  a  lesson.  There  was  no  part  of  the  process 
that  he  did  not  master.  He  taxed  his  wit  to  invent 
machines  to  perfect  and  cheapen  his  processes.  No 
improvement  in  working  steel  or  iron  escaped  his  no 
tice.  What  may  not  twenty-five  years  of  effort  accom 
plish  when  concentrated  on  a  single  object  ?  He  earned 
success  ;  and  now,  when  his  name  is  stamped  on  a 
steel  hammer,  it  is  his  note,  his  bond,  his  integrity 
embodied  in  steel.  The  spirit  of  the  man  is  in  each 
hammer,  and  the  work,  like  the  workman,  is  unrivaled. 
Mr.  Maydole  is  now  acknowledged  to  have  made  the 
best  hammer  in  the  world.  Even  the  sons  of  Thor, 
across  the  sea,  admit  it. 

"  While  I  was  there,  looking  through  his  shop,  with 
all  its  admirable  arrangement  of  tools  and  machinery, 


270  JAMBS  A.   GARFIELD 

there  came  to  him  a  large  order  from  China.  The 
merchants  of  the  Celestial  Kingdom  had  sent  down  to 
the  little  town,  where  the  persistent  blacksmith  now 
lives  in  affluence,  to  get  the  best  that  Anglo-Saxon 
skill  had  accomplished  in  the  hammer  business.  It  is 
no  small  achievement  to  do  one  thing  better  than  any 
other  man  in  the  world  has  done  it. 

"  Let  me  call  your  attention  to  something  nearer  your 
own  work  in  this  college.  About  forty  years  ago,  a 
young  lad  who  had  come  from  the  Catskill  Mountains, 
where  he  had  learned  the  rudiments  of  penmanship  by 
scribbling  on  the  sole  leather  of  a  good  old  Quaker 
shoemaker  (for  he  was  too  poor  to  buy  paper)  till  he 
could  write  better  than  his  neighbors,  commenced  to 
teach  in  that  part  of  Ohio  which  has  been  called  '  be 
nighted  Ashtabula'  —  (I  suggest  'beknighted'  as  the 
proper  spelling  of  the  word).  He  set  up  a  little  writ 
ing-school  in  a  rude  log  cabin,  and  threw  into  the  work 
the  fervor  of  a  poetic  soul  and  a  strength  of  heart  and 
spirit  that  few  men  possess.  He  caught  his  ideals  of 
beauty  from  the  waves  of  the  lake,  and  the  curves  they 
made  upon  the  white  sand  beach,  and  from  the  tracery 
of  the  spider's  web  ;  studying  the  lines  of  beauty  as 
drawn  by  the  hand  of  Nature,  he  wrought  out  the  sys 
tem  of  penmanship  which  is  now  the  pride  of  our 
country,  and  the  models  of  our  schools.  It  is  the  sys 
tem  you  have  been  learning  in  this  college,  and  which 
is  so  worthily  represented  by  the  son  of  its  author  — 
my  friend,  Professor  Spencer,  your  able  instructor.  This 
is  an  example  of  what  a  man  may  do-  by  putting  his 
whole  heart  into  whatever  he  undertakes 


ADDRESSES.  2/1 

"  Only  yesterday,  on  my  way  here,  I  learned  a  fact 
which  I  will  give,  to  show  how  by  attending  to  things, 
and  putting  your  mind  to  the  work,  you  may  reach 
success.  A  few  days  ago,  in  the  city  of  Boston,  there 
was  held  an  exhibition  of  photography  ;  and  to  the 
great  surprise  of  New  England,  it  turned  out  that  Mr. 
Ryder,  a  photographer  from  Cleveland,  Ohio,  took  the 
prize  for  the  best  photography  in  America.  But  how 
did  this  thing  happen  ?  I  will  tell  you.  This  Cleve 
land  photographer  happened  to  read  in  a  German  pa 
per  of  a  process  practiced  by  the  artists  of  Bohemia  — 
a  process  of  touching-up  the  negative  with  the  finest 
instruments,  thus  removing  all  chemical  imperfections 
from  the  negative  itself.  Reading  this,  he  sent  for  one 
of  these  artists,  and  at  length  succeeded  in  bringing 
the  art  of  Bohemia  into  the  service  of  his  own  pro 
fession. 

"  The  patient  German  sat  down  with  his  lenses,  and 
bringing  a  strong  clear  light  upon  these  negatives, 
working  with  the  finest  instruments,  rounding  and 
strengthening  the  outlines,  was  able  at  last  to  print 
from  the  negative  a  photograph  more  perfect  than  any 
I  have  seen  made  with  the  help  of  an  India-ink  finish. 
And  so  Mr.  Ryder  took  the  prize.  Why  not  ?  It  was 
no  mystery  ;  it  was  simply  taking  time  by  the  forelock, 
securing  the  best  aid  in  the  business,  and  bringing  to 
bear  the  force  of  an  energetic  mind  to  attain  the  best 
possible  results. 

'  That  is  the  only  way,  young  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
in  which  success  is  gained.  These  men  succeed,  be 
cause  they  deserve  success.  Their  results  are  wrought 


2j2  JAMES  A.   GAR >  FIELD. 

out  ;  they  do  not  come  to  hand  already  made.  Poet?, 
may  be  born,  but  success  is  made. 

"  Young  gentlemen,  let  not  poverty  stand  as  an  ob 
stacle  in  your  way.  Poverty  is  uncomfortable,  as  I  can 
testify  ;  but  nine  times  out  of  ten  the  best  thing  that 
can  happen  to  a  young  man  is  to  be  tossed  overboard, 
and  compelled  to  sink  or  swim  for  himself.  In  all  my 
acquaintance  I  have  never  known  one  to  be  drowned 
who  was  worth  saving.  This  would  not  be  wholly  true 
in  any  country  but  one  of  political  equality  like  ours. 
The  editor  of  one  of  the  leading  magazines  of  Eng 
land  told  me,  not  many  months  ago,  a  fact  startling 
enough  in  itself,  but  of  great  significance  to  a  poor 
man.  He  told  me  that  he  had  never  yet  known,  in  all 
his  experience,  a  single  boy  of  the  class  of  farm-labor 
ers  (not  those  who  own  farms,  but  mere  farm-laborers), 
who  had  ever  risen  above  his  class.  Boys  from  the 
manufacturing  and  commercial  classes  had  risen  fre 
quently,  but  from  the  farm-labor  class  he  had  never 
known  one. 

(i  The  reason  is  this-:  in  the  aristocracies  of  the  Old 
World,  wealth  and  society  are  built  up  like  the  strata 
of  rock  which  compose  the  crust  of  the  earth.  If  a 
boy  be  born  in  the  lowest  stratum  of  life,  it  is  almost 
impossible  for  him  to  rise  through  this  hard  crust  into 
the  higher  ranks  ;  but  in  this  country  it  is  not  so.  The 
strata  of  our  society  resemble  rather  the  ocean,  where 
every  drop,  even  the  lowest,  is  free  to  mingle  with  all 
others,  and  may  shine  at  last  on  the  crest  of  the  high 
est  wave.  This  is  the  glory  of  our  country,  young 
gentlemen,  and  you  need  not  fear  that  there  are  any 


273 

obstacles  which  will  prove  too  great  for  any  brave 
heart.  You  will  remember  what  Burns,  who  knew  all 
meanings  of  poverty  and  struggle,  has  said  in  homely 
verse : 

'  Though  losses  and  crosses 
Be  lessons  right  severe, 
There's  wit  there,  you'll  get  there, 
You'll  find  no  otherwhere.' 

''  One  thought  more  and  I  will  close.  This  is  almost 
a  sermon,  but  I  cannot  help  it,  for  the  occasion  itself 
has  given  rise  to  the  thoughts  I  am  offering  you.  Let 
me  suggest,  that  in  giving  you  being,  God  locked  up 
in  your  nature  certain  forces  and  capabilities.  What 
will  you  do  with  them  ?  Look  at  the  mechanism  of  a 
clock.  Take  off  the  pendulum  and  ratchet  and  the 
wheels  go  rattling  down,  and  all  its  force  is  expended  in 
a  moment  ;  but  properly  balanced  and  regulated  it  will 
go  on,  letting  out  its  force  tick  by  tick,  measuring  hours 
and  days,  and  doing  faithfully  the  service  for  which  it 
was  designed.  I  implore  you  to  cherish  and  guard  and 
use  well  the  forces  that  God  has  given  to  you.  You  may 
let  them  run  down  in  a  year,  if  you  will.  Take  off  the 
strong  curb  of  discipline  and  morality,  and  you  will  be 
an  old  man  before  your  twenties  are  passed.  Preserve 
these  forces.  Do  not  burn  them  out  with  brandy,  or 
waste  them  in  idleness  and  crime.  Do  not  destroy 
them.  Do  not  use  them  unworthily.  Save  and  pro 
tect  them  that  they  may  save  for  you  fortune  and  fame. 
Honestly  resolve  to  do  this,  and  you  will  be  an  honor 
to  yourself  and  to  your  country."  , 
18 


274  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

FUTURE  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

General  Garfield  was  invited  to  address  the  Literary 
Societies  of  Hudson  College  at  its  commencement  in 
1873.  He  chose  for  his  theme  on  that  occasion,  "  The 
Future  of  the  Republic  :  its  Dangers  and  its  Hopes,"  — 
a  theme  which  is  of  vital  interest  to  every  American 
citizen.  It  is  the  one  question  of  all  others,  to-day, 
demanding  the  attention  of  thinking  men. 

Seven  years  have  passed  since  the  delivery  of  the 
address,  and  the  subjects  taken  up  by  the  orator  are 
still  before  the  American  people. 

After  a  brief  introduction,  he  entered  directly  upon 
the  subject,  inquiring  if  we  may  rationally  hope  that 
its  life  and  success  will  be  permanent,  or  whether  it 
has  entered  upon  a  career  of  brilliant  and  brief  im 
mortality.  "What  do  men  mean,"  he  asked,  "when 
they  predict  the  immortality  of  anything  earthly  ? 

"  The  first  Napoleon  was  one  day  walking  through 
the  galleries  of  the  Louvre,  filled  with  the  wonders  of 
art  which  he  had  stolen  from  the  conquered  capitals  of 
Europe.  As  he  passed  the  marvelous  picture  of  Peter 
Martyr,  one  of  the  seven  masterpieces  of  the  world, 
he  overheard  an  enthusiastic  artist  exclaim,  '  Immortal 
work  ! '  Turning  quickly  upon  his  heel,  the  Emperor 
asked,  '  What  is  the  average  life  of  an  oil-painting  ? ' 
'  Five  hundred  years/  answered  the  artist.  '  Immortal ! ' 
the  Corsican  scornfully  repeated  as  he  passed  on, 
thinking  doubtless  of  Austerlitz  and  Marengo.  Six 
years  ago,  the  wonderful  picture  of  Peter  Martyr  was 
dissolved  in  the  flames  of  a  burning  church  at  Venice, 


ADDRESSES. 


275 


and,  like  Austerlitz,  is  now  only  a  memory  and  a 
dream. 

"  When  the  great  lyric  poet  of  Rome  ventured  to 
predict  immortality  for  his  works,  he  could  think  of  no 
higher  human  symbol  of  immortality  than  the  Eternal 
City  and  her  institutions,  crowded  with  seven  centuries 
of  glorious  growth  ;  and  so  Horace  declared  that  his 
verses  would  be  remembered,  as  long  as  the  high- 
priest  of  Apollo  and  the  silent  vestal  virgin  should 
climb  the  steps  of  the  Capitol.  Fifteen  centuries  ago, 
the  sacred  fires  of  Vesta  went  out,  never  to  be  re 
kindled.  For  a  thousand  years,  Apollo  has  had  no 
shrine,  no  priest,  no  worshiper  on  the  earth.  The 
steps  of  the  Capitol,  and  the  temples  that  crowned  it, 
live  only  in  dreams,  and  to-day  the  antiquary  digs  and 
disputes  among  the  ruins,  and  is  unable  to  tell  us  where 
on  the  Capitoline  hill  the  great  citadel  of  Rome  stood. 

"There  is  much  in  the  history  of  dead  empires  to 
sadden  and  discourage  our  hope  for  the  permanence 
of  any  human  institution.  But  a  deeper  study  reveals 
the  fact  that  nations  have  perished,  only  when  their 
institutions  have  ceased  to  be  serviceable  to  the  human 
race  ;  when  their  faith  has  become  an  empty  form, 
and  the  destruction  of  the  old  is  indispensable  to  the 
growth  of  the  new.  Growth  is  better  than  perma 
nence  ;  and  permanent  growth  is  better  than  all.  Our 
faith  is  large  in  time  ;  and  we 

'  Doubt  not  through  the  ages,  an  increasing  purpose  runs, 
And  the  thoughts  of  men  are  widened  by  the  processor  the  suns.1 

"  It  matters  little  what  may  be  the  forms  of  national 


276  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

institutions,  if  the  life,  freedom,  and  growth  of  society 
are  secured.  To  save  the  life  of  a  nation  it  is  some 
times  necessary  to  discard  the  old  form  and  make  room 
for  the  new  growth  ;  for 

4  Old  decays  but  foster  new  creations; 

Bones  and  ashes  feed  the  golden  corn ; 

Fresh  elixirs  wander  every  moment 

Down  the  veins  through  which  the  live  part  feeds  its  child,  the 
life  unborn.' 

"There  are  two  classes  of  forces  whose  action  and 
reaction  determine  the  condition  of  a  nation,  —  the 
forces  of  repression  and  expression.  The  one  acts 
from  without ;  limits,  curbs,  restrains.  The  other  acts 
from  within  ;  expands,  enlarges,  propels.  Constitu 
tional  forms,  statutory  limitations,  conservative  customs 
belong  to  the  first.  The  free  play  of  individual  life, 
the  opinion  and  action,  belong  to  the  second.  If  these 
forces  be  happily  balanced,  if  there  be  a  wise  con 
servation  and  correlation  of  both,  a  nation  may  enjoy 
the  double  blessing  of  progress  and  permanence. 

"  How  are  these  forces  acting  upon  our  nation  at  the 
present  time  ? 

"  Our  success  has  been  so  great  hitherto,  we  have 
passed  safely  through  so  many  perils,  which  at  the 
time  seemed  almost  fatal,  that  we  may  assume  that  the 
Republic  will  continue  to  live  and  prosper  unless  it 
shall  be  assailed  by  dangers  which  outnumber  and  out 
weigh  the  elements  of  its  strength.  It  is  idle  to  boast 
of  what  we  are,  and  what  we  are  to  be,  unless  at  the 
same  time  we  compare  our  strength  with  the  magni 
tude  of  our  dangers. 


ADDRESSES. 


277 


"What,  then,  are  our  dangers  ;  and  how  can  they  be 
conquered  ?  .  .  . 

"  In  the  first  place,  our  great  dangers  are  not  from 
without.  We  do  not  live  by  the  consent  of  any  other 
nation.  We  must  look  within,  to  find  the  elements  of 
danger.  The  first  and  most  obvious  of  these  is  terri 
torial  expansion,  overgrowth, —  the  danger  that  we  shall 
break  in  pieces  by  our  own  weight.  This  has  been  the 
commonplace  of  historians  and  publicists  for  many  cen 
turies  ;  and  its  truth  has  found  many  striking  illustra 
tions  in  the  experience  of  mankind.  But  we  have  fail- 
ground  for  believing  that  new  conditions  and  new  forces 
have  nearly  if  not  wholly  removed  the  ground  of  this 
danger.  -  Distance,  estrangement,  isolation  have  been 
overcome  by  the  recent  amazing  growth  in  the  means 
of  intercommunication.  For  political  and  industrial 
purposes,  California  and  Massachusetts  are  nearer  neigh 
bors  to-day,  than  were  Philadelphia  and  Boston  in  the 
days  of  the  Revolution.  The  people  of  all  our  thirty- 
seven  States  know  more  of  each  other's  affairs  than  the 
Vermonter  knew  of  his  Virginia  neighbors  fifty  years 
ago.  It  was  distance,  isolation,  ignorance  of  separate 
parts,  that  broke  the  cohesive  force  of  the  great  em 
pires  of  antiquity.  Public  affairs  are  now  more  pub 
lic,  and  private  less  private,  than  in  former  ages.  The 
Railroad,  the  Telegraph  and  the  Press  have  virtually 
brought  our  citizens,  with  their  opinions  and  industries, 
face  to  face  ;  and  they  live  almost  in  each  other's  sight. 
The  leading  political,  social,  and  industrial  events  of 
this  day  will  be  reported  and  discussed  at  more  than 
two  millions  of  American  breakfast-tables  to-morrow 


278  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

morning.  Public  opinion  is  kept  in  constant  exercise 
and  training.  It  keeps  itself  constantly  in  hand  — 
ready  to  approve,  condemn,  and  command.  It  may  be 
wrong  —  it  may  be  tyrannical ;  but  it  is  all-pervading, 
and  constitutes,  more  than  ever  before,  a  strong  band 
of  nationality." 

General  Garfield  set  forth  the  absorbing  power  of 
the  Republic  and  its  territorial  extent,  and  maintained 
that  we  had  little  to  fear  in  that  direction.  He  con 
tinued  : 

"  After  all,  territory  is  but  the  body  of  a  nation.  The 
people  who  inhabit  its  hills  and  its  valleys  are  its  soul, 
its  spirit,  its  life.  In  them  dwells  its  hope  of  immor 
tality.  Among  them,  if  anywhere,  are  to  be  found  its 
chief  elements  of  destruction. 

"  And  this  leads  me  to  consider  an  alleged  danger  to 
our  institutions,  which,  if  well  founded,  would  be  radi 
cal  and  fatal.  I  refer  to  the  allegation  that  universal 
suffrage  as  the  supreme  source  of  political  authority,  is 
a  fatal  mistake.  When  I  hear  this  proposition  urged, 
I  feel,  as  most  Americans  doubtless  do,  that  it  is  a  kind 
of  moral  treason  to  listen  to  it,  and  that  to  entertain  it 
would  be  political  atheism.  That  the  consent  of  the 
governed  is  the  only  true  source  of  national  author 
ity,  and  is  the  safest  and  firmest  foundation  on  which 
to  build  a  government,  is  the  most  fundamental  axiom 
of  our  political  faith.  But  we  must  not  forget  that  a 
majority  —  perhaps  a  large  majority  —  of  the  thinkers, 
writers,  and  statesmen  of  Christendom  declare  that  our 
axiom  is  no  axiom  ;  indeed  is  not  true,  but  is  a  delu 
sion  and  a  snare  —  a  fatal  heresy." 


ADDRESSES.  2/9 

General  Garfield  reviewed  a  letter  written  by  Lord 
Macaulay  in  1857,  to  a  gentleman  in  New  York,  —  the 
great  English  historian  maintaining  that  purely  Demo 
cratic  institutions  would  sooner  or  later  destroy  liberty 
or  civilization,  or  both.  The  letter  is  well  known  to 
students  of  history.  In  reviewing  it  General  Garfield 
said  : 

"  Certainly  this  letter  contains  food  for  serious 
thought ;  and  it  would  be  idle  to  deny  that  the  writer 
has  ppinted  out  what  may  become  serious  dangers  in 
our  future.  But  the  evils  he  complains  of  are  by  no 
means  confined  to  Democratic  governments,  nor  do 
they,  in  the  main,  grow  out  of  popular  suffrage.  If 
they  do,  England  herself  has  taken  a  dangerous  step 
since  Macaulay  wrote.  Ten  years  after  the  date  of 
this  letter  she  extended  the  suffrage  to  800,000  of  her 
working-men,  a  class  hitherto  ignored  in  politics.  And 
still  later  we  have  extended  it  to  an  ignorant  and 
lately  enslaved  population  of  more  than  four  millions. 
Whether  for  weal  or  for  woe,  enlarged  suffrage  is  the 
tendency  of  all  modern  nations.  I  venture  the  decla 
ration  that  this  opinion  of  Macaulay  is  vulnerable  on 
several  grounds  : 

"  In  the  first  place,  it  is  based  upon  a  belief  from 
which  few  if  any  British  writers  have  been  able  to 
emancipate  themselves,  viz.  :  the  belief  that  mankind 
are  born  into  permanent  classes,  and  that,  in  the  main, 
they  must  live,  work,  and  die  in  the  fixed  class  or  con 
dition  in  which  they  were  born.  It  is  hardly  possible 
for  a  man  reared  in  an  aristocracy  like  that  of  England 


28o  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

to  eliminate  this  conviction  from  his  mind,  for  the 
British  empire  is  built  upon  it.  Their  theory  of  na 
tional  stability  is  that  there  must  be  a  permanent  class 
which  shall  hold  in  their  own  hands  so  much  of  the 
wealth,  the  privilege,  and  the  political  power  of  the 
kingdom,  that  they  can  compel  the  admiration  and 
obedience  of  all  other  classes. 

"  At  several  periods  of  English  history  there  have 
been  serious  encroachments  upon  this  doctrine.  But 
on  the  whole,  British  phlegm  has  held  to  it  sturdily, 
and  still  maintains  it.  The  great  voiceless  class  of 
day -laborers  have  made  but  little  headway  against  the 
doctrine.  The  editor  of  a  leading  British  magazine 
told  me,  a  few  years  ago,  that  in  twenty-five  years  of 
observation  he  had  never  known  a  mere  farm-laborer 
in  England  to  rise  above  his  class.  Some,  he  said,  had 
done  so  in  manufactures,  some  in  trade,  but  in  mere 
farm  labor  not  one.  The  government  of  a  country, 
where  such  a  fact  is  possible,  has  much  to  answer  for. 

"  We  deny  the  justice  or  the  necessity  of  keeping 
ninety-nine  of  the  population  in  perpetual  poverty  and 
obscurity,  in  order  that  the  hundredth  may  be  rich  and 
powerful  enough  to  hold  the  ninety-nine  in  subjection. 
Where  such  permanent  classes  exist,  the  conflict  of 
which  Macaulay  speaks  is  inevitable.  And  why  ?  Not 
that  men  are  inclined  to  fight  the  class  above  them, 
but  they  fight  against  any  artificial  barrier,  which  makes 
it  impossible  for  them  to  enter  that  higher  class,  and 
become  a  part  of  it.  We  point  to  the  fact  that  in  this 
country  there  are  no  classes,  in  the  British  sense  of 
the  word  —  no  impassable  barriers  of  caste.  Now  that 


ADDRESSES.  28l 

slavery  is  abolished,  we  can  truly  say  that  through  our 
political  society  there  run  no  fixed  horizontal  strata 
through  which  none  can  pass  upward.  Our  society 
resembles  rather  the  waves  of  the  ocean,  whose  every 
drop  may  move  freely  among  its  fellows,  and  may  rise 
toward  the  light,  until  it  flashes  on  the  crest  of  the 
highest  wave. 

"  Again,  in  depicting  the  dangers  of  universal  suffrage, 
Macaulay  leaves  wholly  out  of  the  account  the  great 
counterbalancing  force  of  universal  education.  He 
contemplates  the  government  delivered  over  to  a  vast 
multitude  of  ignorant,  vicious  men,  who  have  learned 
no  self-control,  who  have  never  comprehended  the  na 
tional  life,  and  who  will  wield  the  ballot  solely  for  per 
sonal  and  selfish  ends.  If  this  were  indeed  the  neces 
sary  condition  of  democratic  communities,  it  would  be 
difficult,  perhaps  impossible,  to  escape  the  logic  of 
Macaulay' s  letter.  And  here  is  a  real  peril  —  the 
danger  that  we  shall  rely  upon  the  mere  extent  of  the 
suffrage  as  a  national  safeguard.  We  cannot  safely, 
even  for  a  moment,  lose  sight  of  the  quality  of  the  suf 
frage,  which  is  more  important  than  its  quantity.  .  .  . 

"  Our  faith  in  the  democratic  principle  rests  upon  the 
belief  that  intelligent  men  will  see  that  their  highest 
political  good  is  in  liberty,  regulated  by  just  and  equal 
laws  ;  and  that  in  the  distribution  of  political  power  it 
is  safe  to  follow  the  maxim,  '  Each  for  all,  and  all  for 
each.'  We  confront  the  dangers  of  the  suffrage  by 
the  blessings  of  universal  education.  We  believe  that 
the  strength  of  the  State  is  the  aggregate  strength  of 
its  individual  citizens,  and  that  the  suffrage  is  the  link 


282  JAMBS   A.   GARFIELD. 

that  binds  in  a  bond  of  mutual  interest  and  responsi 
bility  the  fortunes  of  the  citizens  to  the  fortunes  of  the 
State.  Hence,  as  popular  suffrage  is  the  broadest  base, 
so  when  coupled  with  intelligence  and  virtue  it  becomes 
the  strongest  —  the  most  enduring  base  on  which  to 
build  the  superstructure  of  government. 

"  There  is  another  class  of  dangers,  unlike  any  we 
have  yet  considered  —  dangers  engendered  by  civiliza 
tion  itself,  and  made  formidable  by  the  very  forces 
which  man  is  employing  as  the  most  effective  means 
of  bettering  his  condition  and  advancing  civilization. 

"  The  railway  problem  is  an  example  of  this  class." 

General  Garfield  proceeded  to  set  forth  the  develop 
ment  of  the  railway  system  and  its  powers,  discussing 
the  question  of  vested  rights,  State  control,  the  powers 
of  private  corporations,  under  the  famous  Dartmouth 
College  law,  as  presented  by  Daniel  Webster,  and  the 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  thereon. 

To  present  the  address  in  full  would  be  beyond  the 
scope  of  this  volume ;  but  for  clearness  and  cogent 
reasoning,  and  far-reaching  views,  it  will  take  rank  with 
the  ablest  addresses  upon  the  future  of  the  Republic. 
In  conclusion,  General  Garfield  said : 

"  The  intelligence  and  national  spirit  of  our  people 
exhibit  their  capacity  for  dealing  with  difficult  prob 
lems.  Those  who  saw  the  terrible  elements  of  destruc 
tion  that  burst  upon  us  twelve  years  ago,  in  the  fury  oi 
civil  war,  would  have  been  called  dreamers  and  enthu 
siasts  had  they  predicted  that  1873  would  witness  the 
conflict  ended,  its  cause  annihilated,  the  bitterness  and 
hatred  it  had  occasioned  nearly  gone,  and  the  nation, 


ADDRESSES.  283 

with  union   and  unity  restored,  smiling  again  over  the 
turf  of  half  a  million  soldiers'  graves. 

"  Finally,  our  great  hope  for  the  future  —  our  great 
safeguard  against  danger  —is  to  be  found  in  the  general 
and  thorough  education  of  our  people,  and  in  the  virtue 
which  accompanies  such  education.  And  all  these 
elements  depend  in  a  large  measure  upon  the  intellect 
ual  and  moral  culture  of  the  young  men  who  go  out 
from  our  higher  institutions  of  learning.  From  the 
standpoint  of  this  general  culture  we  may  trustfully  en 
counter  the  perils  that  assail  us.  Secure  against  dan 
gers  from  abroad  ;  united  at  'home  by  the  strongest 
ties  of  common  interest  and  patriotic  pride ;  holding 
and  unifying  our  vast  territory  by  the  most  potent 
forces  of  civilization  ;  relying  upon  the  intelligent 
strength  and  responsibility  of  each  citizen,  and  most  of 
all  upon  the  power  of  truth,  —  without  undue  arrogance, 
we  may  hope  that  in  the  centuries  to  come  our  Repub 
lic  will  continue  to  live  and  hold  its  high  place  among 
the  nations  as 

'  The  heir  of  all  the  ages  in  the  foremost  files  of  time !  '  " 

ADVICE  TO  YOUNG  MEN. 

On  the  Saturday  night  before  the  Ohio  State  elec 
tion  in  1879,  General  Garfield  addressed  the  young  men 
of  Cleveland  upon  the  issues  of  the  hour,  eliciting  at 
almost  every  sentence  great  applause.  The  following 
extract  will  show  its  spirit : 

"  Now,  fellow-citizens,  a  word  before  I  leave  you  on 
the  very  verge  of  the  holy  day  of  God  —  a  fit  moment 


284  JAMES   A.    GAR  FIELD. 

to  consecrate  ourselves  finally  to  the  great  work  of  next 
Tuesday  morning.  I  see  in  this  great  audience  to 
night  a  great  many  young  men,  young  men  who  are 
about  to  cast  their  first  vote.  I  want  to  give  you  a 
word  of  suggestion  and  advice.  I  heard  a  very  brilliant 
thing  said  by  a  boy  the  other  day  up  in  one  of  our 
northwestern  counties.  He  said  to  me,  '  General,  I 
have  a  great  mind  to  vote  the  Democratic  ticket.' 

"  That  was  not  the  brilliant  thing.  I  said  to  him, 
'  Why  ? '  '  Why/  said  he,  '  my  father  is  a  Republican, 
and  my  brothers  are  Republicans,  and  I  am  a  Repub 
lican  all  over  ;  but  I  want  to  be  an  independent  man, 
and  I  don't  want  anybody  to  say,  "  That  fellow  votes  the 
Republican  ticket  just  because  his  dad  docs  ;"  and  I 
have  half  a  mind  to  vote  the  Democratic  ticket  just  to 
prove  my  independence.' 

"  I  did  not  like  the  thing  the  boy  suggested,  but  I  did 
admire  the  spirit  of  the  boy  that  wanted  to  have  some 
independence  of  his  own. 

"  Now,  I  tell  you,  young  man,  don't  vote  the  Re 
publican  ticket  just  because  your  father  votes  it.  Don't 
vote  the  Democratic  ticket,  even  if  he  does  vote  it. 
But  let  me  give  you  this  one  word  of  advice,  as  you 
are  about  to  pitch  your  tent  in  one  of  the  great  politi 
cal  camps :  Your  life  is  full  and  buoyant  with  hope 
now,  and  I  beg  you  when  you  pitch  your  tent,  pitch  it 
among  the  living  and  not  among  the  dead. 

"  If  you  are  at  all  inclined  to  pitch  it  among  the 
Democratic  people,  and  with  that  party,  let  me  go  with 
you  for  a  moment  while  we  survey  the  ground  where 
I  hope  you  will  not  shortly  lie.  It  is  a  sad  place,  young 


ADDRESSES.  285 

man,  for  you  to  put  your  young  life  into.   It  is  to  me  far 
more  like  a  graveyard  than  like  a  camp  for  the  living. 

"  Look  at  it !  It  is  billowed  all  over  with  the  graves 
of  dead  issues,  of  buried  opinions,  of  exploded  theories, 
of  disgraced  doctrines.  You  cannot  live  in  comfort 
in  such  a  place.  Why,  look  here  !  Here  is  a  little 
double  mound.  I  look  down  on  it  and  I  read,  '  Sacred 
to  the  Memory  of  Squatter  Sovereignty  and  the  Dred 
Scott  Decision.'  A  million  and  a  half  of  Democrats 
voted  for  that,  but  it  has  been  dead  fifteen  years  —  died 
by  the  hand  of  Abraham  Lincoln  ;  and  here  it  lies 
Young  man,  that  is  not  the  place  for  you. 

"  But  look  a  little  further.  Here  is  another  monu 
ment,  a  black  tomb,  and  beside  it,  as  our  distinguished 
friend  said,  there  towers  to  the  sky  a  monument  of 
4,000,000  pairs  of  human  fetters  taken  from  the  arms 
of  slaves,  and  I  read  on  its  little  headstone  this  :  '  Sa 
cred  to  the  Memory  of  Human  Slavery.' 

"  For  forty  years  of  its  infamous  life  the  Democratic 
party  taught  that  it  was  divine  —  God's  institution. 
They  defended  it ;  they  stood  around  it ;  they  followed 
it  to  its  grave  as  a  mourner.  But  here  it  lies,  dead  by 
the  hand  of  Abraham  Lincoln  ;  dead  by  the  power  of 
the  Republican  party  ;  dead  by  the  justice  of  Almighty 
God.  Don't  camp  there,  young  man. 

"But  here  is  another — a  little  brimstone  tomb, 
and  I  read  across  its  yellow  face  in  lurid,  bloody  lines 
these  words  :  '  Sacred  to  the  Memory  of  State  Sover 
eignty  and  Secession.'  Twelve  millions  of  Democrats 
mustered  round  it  in  arms  to  keep  it  alive  ;  but  here  it 
lies,  shot  to  death  by  the  million  guns  of  the  Republic. 


286  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

Here  it  lies,  its  shrine  burned  to  ashes  under  the  blaz 
ing  rafters  of  the  burning  Confederacy.  It  is  dead  !  I 
would  not  have  you  stay  in  there  a  minute,  even  in  this 
balmy  night  air,  to  look  at  such  a  place. 

"But  just  before  I  leave  it  I  discover  a  new-made 
grave,  a  little  mound  —  short.  The  grass  has  hardly 
sprouted  over  it,  and  all  around  it  I  see  torn  pieces  of 
paper  with  the  word  '  fiat '  on  them,  and  I  look  down 
in  curiosity,  wondering  what  the  little  grave  is,  and  I 
read  on  it :  '  Sacred  to  the  Memory  of  the  Rag  Baby  ; 
nursed  in  the  brain  of  all  the  Fanaticism  of  the  World  ; 
rocked  by  Thoma's  Ewing,  George  H.  Pendleton,  Sam 
uel  Gary,  and  a  few  others  throughout  the  land.  But 
it  died  on  the  1st  of  January,  1879,  and  the  140,000,000 
dollars  of  gold  that  God  made,  and  not  fiat  power,  lie 
upon  its  little  carcass  to  keep  it  down  forever.' 

"  Oh,  young  man,  come  out  of  that !  That  is  no 
place  in  which  to  put  your  young  life.  Come  out,  and 
come  over  into  this  camp  of  liberty,  of  order,  of  law, 
of  justice,  of  freedom,  of  all  that  is  glorious  under 
these  night  stars. 

"  Is  there  any  death  here  in  our  camp  ?  Yes  !  yes  ! 
Three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  soldiers,  the  noblest 
band  that  ever  trod  the  earth,  died  to  make  this  camp 
a  camp  of  glory  and  of  liberty  forever. 

"  But  there  are  no  dead  issues  here.  There  are  no 
dead  ideas  here.  Hang  out  our  banners  from  under 
the  blue  sky  this  night  until  it  shall  sweep  the  green 
Kirf  under  your  feet !  It  hangs  over  our  camp.  Read 
away  up  under  the  stars  the  inscription  we  have  written 
on  it,  lo!  these  twenty-five  years. 


ADDRESSES. 


287 


"  Twenty-five  years  ago  the  Republican  party  was 
married  to  Liberty,  and  this  is  our  silver  wedding,  fel 
low-citizens.  A  worthily  married  pair  love  each  other 
better  on  the  day  of  their  silver  wedding  than  on  the 
day  of  their  first  espousals  ;  and  we  are  truer  to  liberty 
to-day  and  dearer  to  God  than  we  were  when  we  spoke 
our  first  word  of  liberty.  Read  away  up  under  the  sky 
across  our  starry  banner  the  first  word  we  uttered 
twenty -five  years  ago  !  What  was  it  ?  '  Slavery  shall 
never  extend  over  another  foot  of  the  territory  of  the 
Great  West.'  Is  that  dead  or  alive?  Alive,  thank 
God,  for  evermore  !  And  truer  to-night  than  it  was  the 
hour  it  was  written  !  Then  it  was  a  hope,  a  promise,  a 
purpose.  To-night  it  is  equal  with  the  stars  —  immor 
tal  history  and  immortal  truth. 

"  Come  down  the  glorious  steps  of  our  banner.  Every 
great  record  we  have  made  we  have  vindicated  with 
our  blood  and  with  our  truth.  It  sweeps  the  ground 
and  it  touches  the  stars.  Come  there,  young  man,  and 
put  in  your  young  life  where  all  is  living,  and  where 
nothing  is  dead  but  the  heroes  who  defended  it.  I 
think  these  young  men  will  do  that. 

"  Gentlemen,  we  are  closing  this  memorable  cam 
paign.  We  have  got  our  enemies  on  the  run  every 
where.  And  all  you  need  to  do  in  this  noble  old  city, 
this  capital  of  the  Western  Reserve,  is  to  follow  them 
up  and  finish  it  by  snowing  the  rebellion  under  once 
more.  We  stand  on  an  isthmus.  This  year  and  next 
is  the  narrow  isthmus  between  us  and  perpetual  vic 
tory.  If  you  can  win  now  and  win  in  1880,  then  the 
very  stars  in  their  courses  will  fight  for  us.  The  census 


288  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

will  do  the  work,  and  will  give  us  thirty  more  free  men 
of  the  North  in  our  Congress  that  will  make  up  for  the 
rebellion  of  the  South.  We  are  posted  here  as  the 
Greeks  were  posted  at  Thermopylae  to  meet  this  one 
gieat  Barbarian  Xerxes  of  the  Isthmus.  Stand  in  your 
places,  men  of  Ohio !  Fi^ht  this  battle,  win  this 
victory,  and  then  one  more  puts  you  in  safety  forever !  " 


ADDRESS   ON  THE  FINANCES.  289 


XXV. 

ADDRESS    ON    THE    FINANCES. 

NO  nation  can  go  to  war  without  money.  It  has 
been  called  the  "  sinews  of  war." 

"  Which  will  conquer,  the  North  or  the  South  ? " 
asked  a  gentleman  of  one  of  the  Rothschilds  at  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion, 

''The  North." 

"Why?" 

"  She  has  the  most  money." 

It  was  the  statement  of  a  great  financier  who  under 
stood  the  power  of  money,  and  that  the  South  would 
be  soonest  exhausted.  A  war  disturbs  financial  rela 
tions,  and  all  governments  sooner  or  later,  during  a 
long-continued  war,  must  issue  promises  to  pay.  In 
every  country  there  is  always  trouble  about  such  prom 
ises,  as  to  how  and  when  they  shall  be  paid.  Upon  no 
subject  have  men  been  so  much  at  sea  as  upon  the 
finances  since  the  close  of  the  Rebellion.  General  Gar- 
field  is  one  of  the  few  members  of  Congress  whose 
views  have  been  clear  from  the  outset.  He  has  given 
expression  to  them  many  times,  in  Congress  and  upon 
the  platform.  It  is  conceded  by  his  friends  that  no  abler 
speech  has  been  made  upon  the  financial  question  than 
19 


JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

one  delivered  in  Faneuil  Hall,  Boston,  September  loth, 
1878,  on  Honest  Money.  It  is  a  speech  which  the 
historian  will  turn  to  in  the  future,  for  it  goes  to 
the  bottom  of  things. 

"  To-day,"  said  General  Garfield,  "in  the  foreground, 
is  the  financial  question.  To  this  I  invite  your  con 
sideration.  And  this  great  question  has  its  two  faces. 
One  of  them  looks  back  to  the  war  out  of  which  it 
sprung  ;  the  other  looks  forward  to  the  future  of  the 
people  and  to  their  interests,  and  the  system  of  finance 
that. settles  the  issue  rightly  will  respect  all  the  past 
and  provide  for  the  future.  The  finances  of  the  war, 
fellow -citizens,  can  be  summed  up  in  a  sentence. 
While  the  nation  went  out  into  all  our  homes  and  laid 
its  strong  hand  upon  our  bravest  and  best,  and  took 
them  into  the  field  to  die,  if  need  be,  it  went  out  to  all 
the  people,  and  laid  the  heavy  hand  of  taxation  upon 
them  to  support  and  maintain  the  war.  It  went  to  all, 
rich  and  poor  alike,  and  asked  for  contributions  to 
maintain  the  war.  At  that  time  the  man  who  helped 
the  Government  with  his  means  was  regarded  almost 
equal  in  honor  to  those  who  helped  with  their  lives.  If 
you  will  read  the  record  of  that  legislation,  if  you  will 
read  the  record  of  events  in  the  messages  of  our  Presi 
dent,  you  will  find  them  everywhere  praising  the  patriot 
ism  of  the  citizens  that  came  forward  with  their  money 
and  helped  the  Government.  In  1864,  President  Lin 
coln  said  in  one  of  his  messages  :  '  It  is  a  most  grati 
fying  fact  that  of  eighteen  hundred  millions  loaned  to 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  almost  every 


ADDRESS   ON   THE   FINANCES.  2QI 

dollar  has  been  loaned  by  citizens.'  And  he  congratu 
lated  himself  that  so  many  comparatively  poor  people 
had  put  their  mite  into  the  loan  to  help  the  Govern 
ment  ;  and  he  went  so  far  as  to  suggest  in  the  message 
to  which  I  refer,  that  there  should  be  a  law  in  the 
States  for  the  exemption  of  a  certain  amount  of  bonds 
in  the  hands  of  poor  people  from  seizure  for  debt,  in 
order  that  the  patriotism  they  have  exhibited  in  these 
loans  shall  not  be  lost  by  the  hard  hand  of  suffering 
that  may  be  laid  upon  them.  I  recall  these  facts,  be^ 
cause  we  are  so  apt  to  forget  the  events  of  fourteen 
years  ago.  But  taxes  and  loans,  great  as  they  were, 
were  insufficient  to  supply  the  enormous  demands  of  war. 
"  When  the  officers  of  the  Government  found  they 
could  not  borrow  money  fast  enough,  in  their  extremity 
and  distress  they  took  a  step  the  American  nation  had 
never  taken  before  since  the  Constitution  was  formed. 
They  took  the  step  of  forcing  a  loan  upon  the  people, 
to  meet  the  immediate  emergencies  of  the  war.  I 
want  to  call  your  attention  to  the  remarkable  fact, 
that  when  they  took  that  step  in  1862,  there  are  not 
now  known  to  have  been  ten  men  on  this  continent 
who  did  not  believe  that  paper  money  should  be  re 
deemable  in  coin  at  the  will  of  the  holder.  That  was  a 
nation  of  thirty-one  millions  of  Americans.  Whatever 
has  occurred  since  to  change  the  minds  of  men  has 
occurred  within  sixteen  years.  Now  let  us  take  that 
as  the  basis  of  the  discussion  to-night.  No  man  ever 
understood  better  than  they  thought  they  understood 
the  danger  that  step  led  to.  The  President  of  the 
United  States  —  that  glorious  man,  so  filled  with  love 


292  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

for  all  that  is  good  and  true  and  patriotic  —  deplored 
this  issue  of  paper  money. 

"  Every  senator  and  representative  in  Congress  de 
plored  the  necessity  that  compelled  them  to  abandon, 
for  the  time  being,  the  ground  of  acknowledged  safety, 
and  issue  a  paper  that  could  not  be  at  all  times  ex 
changeable  for  coin.  Both  President  and  Congress 
sought  earnestly  to  avoid  the  known  dangers  of  such  a 
step. 

"  In  the  first  act  that  authorized  the  issue  of  green 
backs,  they  limited  the  amount,  and  provided  for  fund 
ing  them  in  a  coin  bond.  Later,  when  an  additional 
issue  was  unavoidable,  they  made  it  a  fundamental  con 
dition  that  the  volume  should  never  exceed  four  hun 
dred  millions,  and  fifty  millions  additional,  for  redeem 
ing  a  temporary  loan. 

"  That  Pledge  stands  in  our  Law  to-day  —  as  yet  un 
broken,  and  covers,  with  its  high  sanctions,  every  out 
standing  greenback.  That  was  not  all.  They  firmly 
anchored  themselves  to  coin  by  providing  in  the  same 
bill  that  created  the  greenbacks  that  all  our  reve 
nues  from  customs  should  be  received  in  coin  and 
laid  away,  to  be  held  for  paying  the  interest  on  our 
debt,  and  the  bonds  issued  in  connection  with  that, 
to  redeem  and  take  up  the  greenback  currency  as 
soon  as  possible.  Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  this  was 
the  basis  on  which  the  men  of  1862  started  out. 

"  But  another  element  was  added.  The  men  of  1862 
saw  that  the  two  thousand  State  banks  were  bound  by 
no  tie  of  immediate  interest  to  aid  the  nation  ;  and  they 
sought  to  bring  them  to  the  help  of  the  Government, 


ADDRESS    ON   THE  FINANCES.  393 

and  at  the  same  time  to  preserve  those  instrumentali 
ties  by  which  the  supply  of  currency  should  be  deter 
mined  by  the  law  of  supply  and  demand.  To  meet 
both  these  objects,  President  Lincoln,  in  his  message 
of  December,  1862,  recommended  the  organization  of 
national  banks.  He  declared  that  such  banks  would 
greatly  aid  the  public  credit,  and  '  would  at  once  pro 
tect  labor  against  the  evils  of  a  vicious  currency.' 
These  were  Lincoln's  words  in  recommending  the 
National  Banking  System. 

"  Great  as  were  the  tasks  undertaken  by  him  and  his 
associates,  they  did  not  claim  wisdom  enough  to  regu 
late  the  inexorable  laws  of  value  and  of  trade. 

"  And  here,  fellow-citizens,  let  me  pause  long  enough 
to  consider  a  phrase  much  used  in  the  political  discus 
sion  of  the  day  —  a  statement  that  we  want  a  currency 
large  enough  to  meet  the  wants  of  trade.  We  do.  I 
concur  in  that  statement.  But  will  any  man  here  tell 
me  what  the  wants  of  trade  are  ?  Is  there  any  man  in 
America  wise  enough  to  measure  the  wants  of  trade 
and  tell  just  how  much  currency  is  needed  ?  Who  for 
gets  the  infinite  difficulty  to  find  a  man  with  brain 
enough  and  resource  enough  to  feed  an  army  and  to 
clothe  it  and  to  house  it  ?  Its  house  is  of  the  rudest 
—  only  a  piece  of  cloth  ;  its  clothing  is  of  the  simplest, 
and  its  food  is  a  definitely  prescribed  ration.  But  it  is 
considered  worthy  of  the  glory  of  one  glorious  life  to 
be  able  to  feed  and  clothe  and  house  an  army  of  a  hun 
dred  thousand  men.  Now,  fellow-citizens,  suppose 
somebody  should  offer  to  take  the  contract  of  feeding, 
clothing,  and  housing  Boston  and  its  suburbs,  includ- 


294  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

ing  half  a  million  of  men.  Remember  that  all  nations 
are  placed  under  contribution  to  supply  the  city  of 
Boston  :  every  clime  sends  its  supplies :  every  portion 
of  our  own  land,  all  our  roads  of  transportation  are 
looked  to  to  supply  the  tables,  houses,  and  the  clothing 
of  this  community.  Do  you  suppose  any  man  in  the 
world  is  wise  enough,  is  skilful  enough,  to  supply  the 
wants  of  this  population,  in  a  circle  of  twenty  miles 
around  Boston  ?  Now  multiply  that  by  a  hundred,  and 
get  the  population  of  the  United  States.  Is  there  any 
man  in  this  world  wise  enough,  is  there  any  congress 
in  the  world  wise  enough  to  measure  the  wants  of 
45,000,000  of  people  and  tell  just  what  is  needed 
for  their  supplies  ?  No,  fellow-citizens.  But  there  is 
something  behind  legislation  that  'does  —  does  all  so 
quietly  and  so  perfectly.  Every  man  seeking  his  own 
interest,  millions  of  men  acting  for  themselves,  acting 
under  the  great  law  of  supply  and  demand,  the  laws  of 
trade,  feed  Boston,  feed  the  United  States,  clothe, 
house,  and  transport  the  nation,  and  carry  on  all  its 
mighty  works  in  perfect  harmony  and  with  ease,  be 
cause  the  higher  law  above  legislation  —  the  law  of 
demand  and  supply  —  pervading  and  covering  all,  set 
tles  that  great  question  far  above  the  wisdom  of  one 
man,  or  a  thousand  men  to  determine  it. 

"  And  now,  one  of  the  great  means  by  which  all 
these  mighty  transactions  are  carried  on  is  the  cur 
rency  that  circulates  and  exchanges  values  among  all 
these  people.  Every  transaction,  abroad  or  at  home, 
of  the  eleven  hundred  million  dollars'  worth  of  trade 
we  have  with  Europe  and  Asia,  of  the  ten  times  greater 


ADDRESS   ON   THE  FINANCES.  295 

value  of  our  home  trade,  is  carried  on  and  regulated 
by  that  great  pervading  law,  higher  than  legislation  and 
wiser  than  the  wisdom  of  men.  To  that  law  we  must 
conform  our  currency  system,  or  it  will  perish.  Any 
congress,  or  any  party  that  tells  you  they  are  going  to 
vote  a  sufficient  supply  of  currency  for  the  wants  of 
trade,  tells  you  they  are  going  to  do  an  impossibility. 
It  cannot  be.  And  it  was  for  that  reason  that  the 
men  of  1862  and  1864  established  a  system  of  banking 
to  be  diffused  throughout  the  Republic,  which  was  held 
to  the  strictest  accountability  for  the  character  of  its 
securities  to  the  depositors  and  billholders  ;  but  the 
volume  of  its  circulation  was  to  depend,  not  upon  the 
uncertain  will  and  more  uncertain  wisdom  of  Congress, 
but  upon  the  law  of  demand  and  supply.  Bound  al 
ways  to  redeem  their  notes  in  greenbacks  or  coin,  their 
own  interests  and  safety  would  lead  them  to  enlarge  or 
contract  that  volume,  as  the  tide  of  business  should  ebb 
or  flow. 

"  Such  was  the  origin,  and  such  the  character  of  the 
financial  system  established  by  the  men  who  guided  the 
war  for  the  Union. 

''That  system  is  to-day  attacked  with  a  vehemence 
and  fury  hardly  parallel  in  the  annals  of  political  war 
fare.  The  wisdom  of  Lincoln  and  Chase  is  denounced 
as  folly.  Their  patriotism  is  branded  as  crime.  We 
are  told  that  the  system  they  established  and  the  ob 
ligations  they  incurred  are  intolerable  oppression,  and 
must  be  overthrown. 

"  Especially  we  are  told  that  all  our  subsequent  efforts 


2Q6  JAMES  A.   GARFIEL&. 

to  honor  these  pledges,  and  maintain  the  system  thus 
established,  are  unpatriotic  and  unjust. 

"  Let  us  go  deeper  into  the  heart  of  this  question. 
Let  us  consider  the  relation  of  the  national  govern 
ment   to   the  great  commercial  and  financial  distress 
from  which  our  people  have  been  suffering  during  the 
last  five  years. 

"Doubtless  it  is  in  great  part  due  to  the  vast  eco 
nomic  disturbance  caused  by  the  war ;  though  it  must 
be  remembered  that  once  in  about  twenty  years  such 
periods  of  distress  have  occurred,  not  here  alone,  but 
throughout  the  civilized  world,  and  have  often  sprung 
from  causes  wholly  beyond  the  reach  of  human  legis 
lation. 

"  What  can  the  Government  do  to  help  a  people  in 
distress  ?  That  question  you  have  a  right  to  ask  ;  and 
whatever  legislation  can  do  it  ought  to  do.  What  it 
cannot  do  we  are  unwise  to  demand  of  it,  and  it  is 
futile  to  demand.  Now,  let  me  tell  you  some  of  the 
things  that  Government  can  do;  and,  first  of  all,  the 
best  thing  Government  can  do,  the  first  great  thing  that 
Government  can  do,  is  to  get  out  of  the  way  and  not 
be  an  obstruction  to  the  return  of  prosperity. 

"  No  one  will  deny  that  the  heavy  burden  impose  J 
by  the  war  has  been  and  is  a  hindrance  to  the  business 
prosperity  of  our  people.  Let  us  try  to  measure  t'u 
vastness  of  that  burden.  In  1865,  the  funded  debt 
alone,  imposed  upon  us  by  the  war,  amounted  to  l\\« 
billions  seven  hundred  and  fifty-seven  millions  of  dol 
lars.  Upon  that  debt  we  were  compelled  to  pay  inter 
est  to  the  sum  of  $ 1 5 1 ,000,000  in  coin,  a  dreadful 


ADDRESS    ON  THE  FINANCES.  297 

annual  burden.  During  the  year  after  the  war,  we  paid 
over  the  national  counter  $520,000,000  to  meet  cur 
rent  demands  upon  the  Treasury,  including  interest  on 
the  public  debt.  These  tremendous  burdens  it  seemed 
for  a  time  we  could  not  carry  ;  and  there  were  wicked 
men  who  said  we  ought  not  to  try  to  carry  them,  and 
despairing  men  who  said  we  could  not ;  but  the  brave 
nation  said,  this  burden  is  the  price  of  our  country's 
life,  the  price  of  blood  and  the  price  of  liberty  ;  and 
therefore  we  will  bow  ourselves  and  take  up  the  bur 
den.  We  will  carry  it  upon  the  stalwart  shoulders  of 
the  Republic.  .  .  . 

"  There  has  arisen  among  us,  within  the  last  few 
years,  a  body  of  men  who  claim  to  have  made  a  dis 
covery  of  the  greatest  possible  importance  ;  and  I  want 
to  say  for  them,  if  their  discovery  is  what  they  believe 
it  to  be,  it  is  the  most  important  discovery  ever  an 
nounced  to  man  on  the  subject  of  finance.  I  wish  to 
treat  them  with  all  the  fairness  of  getting  their  own 
problem,  their  own  proposition,  from  themselves.  They 
claim  to  have  discovered  that  there  is  no  longer  any 
room  for  the  old  notion  which  the  United  States  has 
believed  in  for  a  hundred  years,  that  everybody  believed 
in  in  1862  and  1865, —  the  notion  that  there  ought  to 
be  value  behind  paper  money. 

"They  claim  that  money  being  itself  a  creature  of 
law,  that  law  alone  can  create  it,  and  can  create  it  out 
of  whatever  it  pleases,  and  make  that  money  which  it 
declares  to  be  money.  Let  us  give  them  the  full  bene 
fit  of  this  proposition.  They  declare  that  as  the  Cre 
ator  said,  '  Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was  light/  so  a 


298  JAMES  A.   G  An  FIELD. 

sovereign  government  may  say,  '  Let  this  piece  of  paper 
be  money,  and  it  will  be  money.'  Let  the  Republic 
pronounce  its  fiat  over  a  piece  of  paper  and  that  be 
comes  money,  and  hence  they  call  it  '  fiat  money.'  As 
to  what  they  will  do  with  the  fiat  money,  as  to  how 
much  they  will  have  of  it,  they  are  not  agreed. 

"There  were  three  things  our  fathers  put  into  the 
Constitution  which  they  evidently  believed  Congress 
could  do.  They  said  Congress  shall  have  the  power  to 
fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures,  and  to  coin 
money,  and  declare  the  value  of  coins.  Let  us  try  to 
get  down  to  these  fundamental  ideas. 

"  What  can  Congress  do  about  a  standard  of  meas 
ures  ?  Can  it  create  measures  ?  What  is  a  standard 
of  measure  ?  It  is  something  which  measures  what 
we  call  extension,  length,  breadth,  or  height.  Who 
made  extension  ?  Did  Congress  create  it  ?  Did  human 
law  invent  it  ?  Extension  is  a  quality  of  the  elements 
which  pervade  the  universe,  and  is  independent  of  hu 
man  laws  as  the  stars  above  the  earth  are  independent 
of  it.  Can  you  conceive  of  such  a  thing  as  a  legis 
lature  creating  length  ?  Unless,  indeed,  of  session. 

"This  is  what  the  law  can  do.  It  can  take  something 
that  has  length,  and  name  it  a  yard  ;  it  can  separate 
that  into  three  equal  parts,  and  call  each  part  a  foot ; 
it  can  separate  that  into  twelve  equal  parts,  and  call 
each  part  an  inch  ;  but  it  can  no  more  create  length 
than  it  could  create  the  universe.  It  can  subdivide  and 
name  the  standard,  but  it  can  create  none  of  the  ele 
ments  which  go  to  make  up  extension.  Try  to  con 
ceive  of  a  standard  of  length  which  has  no  length  in 


ADDRESS    ON   THE  FINANCES, 


299 


itself.  The  thing  is  inconceivable.  I  challenge  the 
intelligence  of  any  man  who  hears  me  to  think  of  such 
a  thing  as  a  measure  of  length  which  has  no  length  in 
itself.  Suppose  you  were  to  say  that  the  light  which 
gleams  from  this  burner  shall  be  called  a  foot.  Sup 
pose  a  lady  to  say,  '  I  will  call  the  fragrance  of  a  moss- 
rose  the  standard  of  a  foot,'  does  that  mean  anything  ? 

"  It  is  inconceivable.  No  ;  by  laws  higher  than  hu 
man  legislation,  length,  depth,  height  were  created  ; 
men  can  only  name  and  declare  a  definite  length  as  the 
standard.  And  so  with  weight.  When  Congress  came 
to  fix  a  standard  of  weight,  it  could  not  create  weight, 
but  it  could  take  a  piece  of  metal  —  that  has  weight 
in  itself — and  name  it  a  pound;  could  subdivide  it 
into  sixteen  parts,  and  call  each  one  an  ounce ;  but  it 
could  not  create  a  standard  of  weight  unless  the  weight 
was  there. 

"  Now  let  us  consider  the  idea  of  value.  It  is  more 
complicated  and  abstract  than  the  notion  of  length  or 
weight,  but  it  is  no  less  real.  What  you  and  I  call 
value,  what  the  business  world  calls  value,  is  real  and 
tangible.  Your  merchandise  has  value  for  the  .qualities 
which  are  in  it  ;  your  grain,  your  products,  all  that  go 
to  make  up  wealth,  have  value  for  the  exchangeable 
qualities  in  them.  And  in  seeking  a  measure  for  that 
value,  I  ask  any  man  who  hears  me  to-night  if  it  be 
conceivable  that  you  can  measure  value  by  that  which 
has  no  value  in  itself,  any  more  than  you  can  measure 
length  by  that  which  has  no  length,  or  weight  by  that 
which  has  no  weight  ? 

"  I  defy  any  man  to  describe  that  operation  of  mind 


300  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

by  which  you  can  conceive  a  measure  of  value  that  in 
itself  has  no  value.  I  recollect  once  to  have  read  a  sin 
gular  sentence  from  Horace  Greeley,  in  his  book  on 
'  Political  Economy/  in  which  he  said  he  did  not  know 
but  it  was  possible  to  get  a  standard  of  values  that  was 
not  so  costly  as  coin.  '  For  instance,'  said  he,  '  I  sup 
pose  a  gold  yardstick  would  be  a  very  nice  thing  to 
have,  but  it  would  be  a  costly  yardstick.  I  think  we 
might  have  one  of  paper,  or  of  wood,  or  of  iron,  that 
would  answer  just  as  well,  if  it  would  measure  just  as 
exact.'  Certainly,  we  could  ;  but  can  you  have  a  yard 
stick  that  has  no-length  ?  If  not,  can  you  find  a  meas 
ure  of  values  that  has  no  value  ?  It  is  inconceivable, 
and  the  fiat  of  the  law  cannot  create  it. 

"  When  our  fathers  established  the  measure  of  value, 
they  took  a  fixed  quantity  of  the  precious  metals, 
coined  them  by  stamping  upon  them  the  certificate  of 
the  Government  that  the  weight  and  fineness  of  the 
coin  was  precisely  what  it  professed  to  be.  They 
sought  not  to  create,  but  to  ascertain  and  declare  the 
value  of  their  coins  as  determined  in  the  markets  of  the 
world. 

"  The  supreme  test  of  real  money  is  this  :  Cast  a 
hundred  dollars  of  real  money  into  the  smelting-pot, 
and  the  blackened  melted  mass  will  sell  in  the  market 
for  just  one  hundred  dollars  less  the  waste  of  melting. 

"  But  at  this  point  some  one  says,  '  That  is  all  very 
well  as  a  matter  of  philosophy,  but,  Mr.  Garfield,  you 
probably  have  a  dollar-bill  in  your  pocket,  and  with  it 
you  can  go  out  and  buy  a  shovel,  can  you  not  ?  Do 
you  say  that  you  buy  it  with  something  that  has  no 


ADDRESS   ON   THE   FINANCES. 


301 


value  ?  Does  not  every  dollar-bill  refute  the  theory 
you  have  offered  ? '  Not  in  the  least,  if  you  will  follow 
me  a  moment  further. 

"  What  is  paper  money,  so  called  ?  Is  it  money  ?  It 
is  a  title  to  money,  a  deed  for  money,  but  it  is  not 
money.  Your  farmer  has  his  deed  for  a  hundred  acres 
of  land  ;  is  that  the  land  ?  It  is  paper,  but  it  is  his 
evidence  that  he  owns  the  farm.  Suppose  you  want  to 
buy  his  farm  ;  you  look  at  his  deed  ;  the  first  question 
you  raise  is,  is  it  genuine  or  counterfeit  ?  If  you  find 
that  it  is  genuine,  that  it  has  been  issued  by  the  requi 
site  authority,  you  still  have  another  question.  You 
see  it  calls  for  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  but  you  sent 
a  surveyor  out,  he  traces  the  line  ;  he  takes  the  angles  ; 
he  makes  the  measurements,  and  when  he  has  come 
back  with  his  measurement  and  declared  there  are  in  the 
within  boundaries  described  one  hundred  acres  of  land, 
then  the  deed  is  the  evidence  of  all  it  pretends  to  be. 

"  If  he  finds  no  land  at  all  behind  the  deed,  he  must 
be  content  with  a  '  fiat '  farm.  But  suppose  the  sur 
veyor  finds  land  behind  the  deed,  but  on  measuring  it 
declares  that  there  are  but  ninety-nine  acres  of  land, 
what  do  the  figures  or  the  deed  amount  to  in  the  face 
of  the  fact  ?  Suppose  the  farmers  in  your  agricultural 
districts  should  say,  '  We  are  in  distress  ;  our  great 
need  is  more  land  ;  if  we  had  more  land  we  would  get 
c  n  better  with  our  affairs  ;  and  now  let  us  get  a  law 
through  the  General  Court  that  every  man  may  sur 
render  up  his  deed  and  have  a  new  one  written,  with 
two  acres  for  every  one/  When  you  can  enlarge  your 
farm  by  changing  the  figures  in  your  deeds  ;  when 


202  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

your  dairy-maid  can  make  more  butter  and  cheese  by 
watering  her  milk  ;  when  you  can  have  more  cloth  by 
decreasing  your  yardstick  one  half;  when  you  can  sell 
more  tons  of  merchandise  by  shortening  your  pound 
one  half,  —  then,  and  not  until  then,  you  can  increase 
the  value  of  your  property  or  labor  by  decreasing  your 
standard  of  values. 

"  But  some  one  meets  me  with  this  :  After  all,  what 
ever  you  may  say  about  the  fact,  your  paper  dollar  will 
pay  a  debt,  no  matter  how  much  depreciation  may  have 
smitten  it ;  and  what  we  want  is  a  money  that  will  pay 
debts.  There  is-  an  element  of  truth  in  this  sugges 
tion,  and  it  touches  the  very  core  of  the  evil  of  a  depre 
ciated  paper  currency.  A  currency  that  is  not  at  par 
and  is  a  legal  tender,  has  these  two  qualities  in  it : 
One,  its  debt-paying  power ;  the  other,  its  purchasing 
power  ;  and  wherever  these  two  values  disagree,  you 
notice  the  utmost  confusion  and  injustice  in  the  busi 
ness  of  life,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest. 

"  If  the  debt-paying  power  and  the  purchasing  power 
of  your  money  are  not  alike,  you  are  in  a  confusion 
which  can  never  be  healed  except  by  making  them 
equal.  They  have  been  made  unequal  by  the  opera 
tions  of  the  law  ;  by  the  law  alone  their  equality  can 
be  restored.  I  suppose,  if  by  the  brute  force  of  Con 
gressional  vote  and  Presidential  approval  we  should  be 
wicked  enough  to  do  it,  probably  Congress  might  wipe 
out  all  debts  by  a  universal  law  of  bankruptcy  that  de 
clared  on  a  certain  day  all  debts  should  be  counted  as 
cancelled  ;  but  the  man  who  would  counsel  that,  or 
would  counsel  the  making  of  a  paper  dollar  that  would 


ADDRESS    ON  THE  FINANCES.  303 

accomplish  the  same  thing,  would  be  denounced  by 
every  fair-minded  man  in  the  world  as  a  villain  ;  and  if 
that  is  what  the  Greenback  movement  means,  we  dare 
our  enemies  to  face  it." 

SPECIE   RESUMPTION. 

"  Now,  fellow-citizens,  we  go  back  to  the  primary 
question  in  this  fight.  I  affirm,  against  all  opposers, 
that  the  highest  and  foremost  present  duty  of  the 
American  people  is  to  complete  the  resumption  of 
specie  payments  ;  and  first  of  all,  because  the  sacred 
faith  of  this  republic  is  pledged  to  resumption  ;  and  if 
it  were  never  so  hard  to  do  it,  if  the  burdens  were  ten 
times  greater  than  they  are,  this  nation  dare  not  look 
in  the  face  of  God  and  men,  and  break  its  plighted 
word. 

"  It  is  a  fearful  thing  for  one  man  to  stand  up  in  the 
face  of  his  brother  man  and  refuse  to  keep  his  pledge ; 
but  it  is  a  forty-five  million  times  worse  thing  for  a 
nation  to  do  it.  It  breaks  the  main-spring  of  faith.  It 
unsettles  all  security,  it  disturbs  all  values,  and  it  puts 
the  life  of  the  nation  in  peril  for  all  time  to  come.  If 
we  should  break  our  faith  now,  who  would  trust  the 
Republic  again  in  the  hour  of  danger  ?  If  we  break 
our  faith  now,  we  should  not  deserve  to  be  saved  when 
we  are  again  in  peril. 

"  I  am  almost  ashamed  to  give  any  other  reason  for 
resumption  than  this  one  I  have  given.  It  is  so  com 
plete  that  no  other  is  needed ;  but  there  is  another 
almost  as  strong.  If  there  were  no  moral  obligations 
resting  upon  the  nation,  if  there  were  no  public  faith 


JAMBS  A.   GARFIELD. 

pledged  to  it,  I  affirm  that  the  resumption  of  specie 
payment  is  demanded  by  every  interest  of  business  in 
this  country,  and  so  imperatively  demanded  that  it  can 
be  demonstrated  that  every  ..^:est  interest  in  America 
will  be  strengthened  and  bettered  by  the  resumption  of 

specie  payment 

"  Several  years  ago  it  was  said  in  Congress,  in  praise 
of  our  irredeemable  greenbacks,  that  we  had  a  dollar 
that  would  stay  by  us,  a  dollar  that  was  not  a  coward, 
like  gold  and  silver,  which  went  away  from  us  during 
the  war,  a  patriotic  dollar  that  would  stay  with  us. 
You  want  a  non-exportable  dollar,  you  Greenback  men  ! 
You  want  all  its  blessings  confined  to  us,  like  that 
citizen  of  a  German  town  who  moved  that  a  gibbet  be 
erected  in  the  town,  and  resolved  that  all  the  blessings, 
privileges,  and  benefits  thereof  be  restricted  to  the 
citizens  of  the  town.  Do  you  know  where  that  idea  of 
a  n  on -exportable  dollar  came  from  ?  I  can  read  you 
that  very  sentence  from  a  book  written  by  John  Law 
two  hundred  years  ago,  when  he  started  the  Mississippi 
scheme,  that  blasted  France  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
There  are  other  things  that  are  non-exportable  —  dam 
aged  flour,  spoiled  cotton,  rancid  butter,  addled  eggs  — 
they  are  all  non-exportable.  But  I  have  never  heard  a 
tradesman  thank  God  for  the  putrescence  that  made 
them  so.  Our  currency  has  been  non-exportable  for 
the  same  reason.  It  is  so  bad,  and  so  uncertain,  that 
no  nation  would  take  it,  except  by  law.  We  want  a 
currency  that  can  walk  like  an  American  all  over  the 

world Many  leading  Democrats  of   the  West 

have  confined  themselves  chieflv  to  the  abolition  of  the 


ADDRESS   ON  THE  FINANCES.  305 

national  banks,  and  the  issue  of  $324,000,000  of  green 
backs  to  take  the  place  of  their  notes.  Now,  that  is  a 
debatable  question,  and  as  you  are  reasonable  men,  let 
us  debate  it.  If  it  were  just  as  good,  I  would  be  in 
favor  of  it ;  if  it  were  better,  I  would  be  still  more 
strongly  in  favor  of  it.  What  are  the  objections  ?  My 
first  objection  to  that  proposition  is,  that  it  is  a  flat 
violation  of  the  pledge,  promise,  and  faith  of  this  nation 
that  it  would  never  increase  the  greenbacks  above 
$400,000,000.  If  you  make  this  change,  you  will 
exceed  that  volume.  (A  voice  —  '  Too  thin.')  Is  good 
faith  too  thin  for  you  ?  Then  you  are  too  thin  for  an 
able-bodied  honest  man.  Suppose  that  trouble  be  got 
over  ;  suppose  there  were  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the 
public  faith  ;  I  have  another  objection  to  it.  If  you 
issue  $324,000,000  more  of  greenbacks  on  top  of  the 
$346,000,000  now  out,  you  make  redemption  impossi 
ble  ;  and  all  who  believe  in  the  resumption  of  specie 
payments  ought  to  oppose  it  for  that  reason.  Why  do 
I  say  that  ?  The  United  States  Treasury  can  now 
resume  specie  payments  on  the  promised  day.  It  could 
do  it  sooner.  In  1875  we  were  told  we  could  not 
resume  ;  that  we  could  not  get  the  gold  to  resume ; 
that  the  moment  we  tried  to  accumulate  the  coin,  it 
would  increase  the  value  of  the  coin,  and  decrease  the 
value  of  the  currency ;  but  in  the  face  of  all  such 
Cassandra  prophecies,  we  have  accumulated  and  have 
to-day  in  the  Treasury,  unappropriated  for  any  other 
purpose,  $135,000,000  of  coin  waiting.  (A  voice  — 
vVe  lose  the  interest  of  it.')  Certainly  we  lose  the 
interest,  but  it  costs  something  to  be  honest.  In  thQ 
20 


306  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

next  place,  while  that  has  been  accumulating,  the  value 
of  our  greenback  has  been  going  up  constantly,  from 
thirteen  per  cent,  discount  when  the  law  was  passed, 
until  to-day,  in  the  market  of  America,  our  greenback 
was  worth  99!  cents  on  the  dollar.  What  coin  we 
have  will  certainly  be  enough  to  complete  that  work  ; 
but  if  it  were  not,  we  can  readily  accumulate,  under 
the  law,  $5,000,000  a  month  more,  on  top  of  that,  until 
the  day  of  resumption  comes  ;  so  that  we  are  perfectly 
able  to  resume,  under  the  law  as  it  now  stands.  There 
are  the  national  bank  notes,  $324,000,000  of  them 
out.  They  are  compelled  to  march  abreast  of  'us  in 
the  work  of  resumption  of  specie  payments.  The 
two  thousand  national  banks  are  all  harnessed  to  the 
car  of  resumption,  and  when  we  resume  they  must 
resume.  If  you  abolish  them,  you  take  away  their 
help — you  put  the  whole  weight  of  the  $670,000,000 
on  the  Treasury,  and  break  it  down. 

"  There  is  another  objection  I  have  to  abolishing  the 
national  banks  and  substituting  greenbacks  for  their 
notes.  Now  we  have  the  national  banks  in  a  shape 
where  they  pay  a  good  round  share  of  the  taxes,  and  I 
am  glad  of  it.  They  ought  to  pay  it.  Since  their 
organization  they  have  paid  over  $200,000,000  of  taxes 
to  the  States  and  the  nation.  Last  year  they  paid 
$16,000,000  of  tax;  $9,000,000  to  the  States,  and 
$7,000,000  to  the  nation.  Their  stock  is  taxed  by  the 
States,  their  circulation  is  taxed  by  the  nation;  their 
deposits  are  taxed  by  the  nation,  and  a  man  who  holds 
national  bank  notes  on  the  day  of  assessment  is  taxed 
upon  them.  How  about  the  greenbacks  ?  There  are 


ADDRESS  ON  THE  FINANCES. 


307 


$346,000,000  of  greenbacks  that  escape  taxation.  A 
rich  man  can  gather  them  in  on  the  day  of  assessment 
and  escape  taxation.  The  substitution  you  talk  of 
would  lose  $17,000,000  of  taxes  a  year  to  the  States 
and  the  nation,  and  put  $324,000,000  out  of  the  reach 
of  taxation,  —  a  thing  fairly  to  be  complained  of,  and 
I  object  to  it  for  that  reason. 

"  I  object  to  the  substitution  for  still  another  reason. 
The  national  bank  notes  as  they  now  stand  are  the 
only  portion  of  our  financial  machinery  that  gears  the 
supply  of  currency  to  the  laws  of  supply  and  demand. 
Abolish  them  and  put  out  $324,000,000  of  greenbacks, 
and  the  volume  of  your  currency  depends  upon  the 
votes  of  Congress.  You  might  as  well  hope  to  regulate 
the  movements  of  the  solar  system  by  acts  of  Congress, 
as  to  regulate  the  necessary  volume  of  currency  by 
votes  of  partisans  in  Congress.  No  men  are  wise 
enough  to  do  it,  and  if  they  were,  dare  you  trust  so 
delicate  a  thing  as  that  to  partisan  votes  in  Senate 
and  House  ?  If  you  have  so  much  faith  as  that  in 
Congress,  your  faith  exceeds  mine.  There  is  another 
thing  about  it,  fellow-citizens.  If  you  abolish  the 
national  banking  system,  you  leave  it  a  mere  group  of 
brokers'  shops,  nothing  more  than  that.  The  banking 
business  of  America,  besides  the  circulation  of  notes, 
is  as  necessary  to  the  trade  of  the  United  States  as  the 
railroads  to  transportation.  Do  you  know,  fellow- 
citizens,  that  the  modern  device  for  avoiding  the  use  of 
a  large  amount  of  money,  is  the  bank  ?  What  propor 
tion  of  business  is  carried  on  in  actual  money  ?  In 
England,  they  tell  us,  only  five  per  cent,  of  the  trade  is 


308  JAMES  A.  GARF1ELD. 

carried  on  by  the  actual  use  of  money  ;  ninety-five  per 
cent,  by  drafts  and  checks  and  commercial  bills,  and 
these  are  handled  by  the  banks.  In  this  country  not 
less  than  ninety  per  cent,  of  our  business  is  carried  on  in 
that  way.  Would  you  have  shaving-shops,  irresponsible 
and  independent,  or  the  present  system,  that  holds 
them  all  in  the  grip  and  control  of  the  law  ? 

"  I  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm  that  while  it  may  not  be 
a  perfect  system,  the  present  national  banking  system 
is  the  most  perfect  this  country  ever  knew,  and  to 
abolish  it  is  to  go  back  to  the  wretched  old  system  that 
prevailed  before  the  war. 

"  Now  the  third  point  I  want  to  make  is,  that  resump 
tion  is  so  nearly  come  that  it  would  be  a  crime  to  stop 
it.  Whatever  evils  anybody  has  prophesied  as  coming 
from  resumption,  whatever  hardship  resumption  was 
supposed  to  have  brought,  have  been  endured  already  ; 
the  agony  is  in  fact  over.  We  are  almost  in  reach  of 
shore.  We  have  been  tossed  these  many  long  years 
upon  the  stormy  and  uncertain  sea  of  irredeemable 
paper  money.  It  has  crippled  our  industries,  shaken 
our  confidence,  robbed  our  poor  men,  blasted  our  hopes, 
it  has  made  it  possible  that  $1,000,000,000  has  been  in 
vested  for  years  in  the  miserable,  wretched  business  of 
gambling  in  gold.  Now  the  resumption  ends  the  busi 
ness  of  gold  gambling  forever,  for  it  existed  only  in  the 
difference  in  value  between  paper  and  gold.  After  all 
we  have  suffered,  we  are  now  like  a  bold  and  sturdy 
swimmer  almost  ashore.  Out  of  the  tempest,  out  of 
the  night,  out  of  the  storm  and  danger  of  the  deep,  the 
republic  is  just  within  a  stroke  of  the  shore.  One 


ADDRESS   ON  THE  FINANCES.  309 

more  stroke  and  her  feet  will  stand  upon  the  rock. 
And  the  enemies  of  resumption  would  come  now  and 
plunge  her  back  into  the  uncertainty  of  night,  upon  a 
shoreless,  bottomless  sea,  wretched  and  forlorn !  In 
the  name  of  sweet  peace,  in  the  name  of  returning 
prosperity,  in  the  name  of  the  sufferings  we  have  en 
dured,  I  demand,  the  Republican  party  demands,  all 
lovers  of  honest  money  demand,  that  the  progress  of 
resumption  shall  not  be  hindered.  Nothing  can  now 
hinder  it  but  the  brute  force  of  hostile  legislation." 

General  Garfield  glanced  at  the  future  of  the  Repub 
lic,  of  the  prediction  of  its  downfall  by  Macaulay,  as 
given  in  a  previous  chapter.  In  conclusion  he  said  : 

"  For  myself,  with  all  my  soul  I  repel  the  prophecy  as 
false.  I  reject  it  as  a  Cassandra  prophecy  that  cannot 
be  fulfilled.  But  why?  I  will  detain  you  only  a  mo 
ment  to  give  you  my  reason.  A  few  years  ago  I  sought 
to  answer  this  indictment.  My  first  answer  is  this : 
No  man  who  has  not  lived  among  us  can  understand 
one  thing  about  our  institutions  ;  no  man  who  has 
been  born  and  reared  under  monarchical  governments 
can  understand  the  vast  difference  between  theirs  and 
ours.  How  is  it  in  monarchical  governments  ?  Their 
society  is  one  series  of  caste  upon  caste.  Down  at  the 
bottom,  like  the  granite  rocks  in  the  crust  of  the  earth, 
lie  the  great  body  of  laboring  men.  An  Englishman 
told  me  not  long  ago  that  in  twenty-five  years  of  care 
ful  study  of  tiie  agricultural  class  of  England,  he  had 
never  known  one  who  was  born  and  reared  in  the  ranks 
of  farm-laborers  that  rose  above  his  class  and  became  a 
well-to-do  citizen.  That  is  a  most  terrible  sentence, 


310  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

that  three  millions  of  people  should  lie  at  the  bottom 
of  society,  with  no  power  to  rise.  Above  them  the  gen 
try,  the  hereditary  capitalists  ;  above  them,  the  nobility  ; 
above  them,  the  royalty ;  and,  crowning  all,  the  sover 
eign,  —  all  impassable  barriers  of  caste. 

"  No  man  born  under  such  institutions  can  understand 
the  mighty  difference  between  them  and  us  in  this 
country.  Thank  God,  and  thank  the  fathers  of  the 
republic  who  made,  and  the  men  who  carried  out  the 
promises  of  the  Declaration,  that  in  this  country  there 
are  no  classes,  fixed  and  impassable.  Here  society  is 
not  fixed  in  horizontal  layers,  like  the  crust  of  the 
earth,  but,  as  a  great  New  England  man  said,  years 
ago,  it  is  rather  like  the  ocean,  broad,  deep,  grand, 
open,  and  so  free  in  all  its  parts  that  every  drop  that 
mingles  with  the  yellow  sand  at  the  bottom  may  rise 
through  all  the  waters,  till  it  gleams  in  the  sunshine 
on  the  crest  of  the  highest  wave.  So  it  is  here  in  our 
free  society,  permeated  with  the  light  of  American 
freedom.  There  is  no  American  boy,  however  poor, 
however  humble,  orphan  though  he  may  be,  that,  if  he 
have  a  clear  head,  a  true  heart,  a  strong  arm,  he  may 
not  rise  through  all  the  grades  of  society,  and  become 
the  crown,  the  glory,  the  pillar  of  the  State. 

"  Here,  there  is  no  need  for  the  old-world  war  between 
capital  and  labor.  Here  is  no  need  of  the  explosion  of 
social  order  predicted  by  Macaulay.  All  we  need  is 
the  protection  of  just  and  equal  laws — just  alike  to 
labor  and  to  capital.  Every  poor  man  hopes  to  lay  by 
something  for  a  rainy  day  —  hopes  to  become  a  capi 
talist,  for  capital  is  only  accumulated  labor.  When- 


ADDRESS  ON   THE  FINANCES.  ^n 

ever  a  laborer  has  earned  one  hundred  dollars  more 
than  he  needs  for  daily  expenses,  he  becomes  to  that 
extent  a  capitalist,  and  needs  to  be  safe  in  its  enjoy 
ment. 

"  There  is  another  answer  to  Macaulay.  He  could 
not  understand  —  no  man  could  understand  until  he 
had  seen  it  —  the  almost  omnipotent  power  of  our  sys 
tem  of  education,  that  teaches  our  people  how  to  be 
free  by  teaching  them  to  be  intelligent.  But,  fellow- 
citizens,  who  has  read  the  letter  of  Macaulay  that  did 
not  remember  it  a  year  ago  last  July,  when  in  ten  great 
States  of  the  Union  millions  of  American  citizens  and 
millions  of  American  property  were  in  peril  of  de 
struction  ?  when  the  spirit  of  mob  ran  riot ;  when  Pitts 
burgh  flamed  in  ruin  and  smoked  in  blood,  and  many  of 
our  great  cities  were  in  peril  of  destruction,  —  who 
did  not  remember  the  doctrine  of  Macaulay  then,  and 
did  not  anew  resolve  that  the  bloody  track  of  the  Com 
mune  should  have  no  pathway  on  our  shore  ?  " 

ELECTION  AS  SENATOR. 

On  the  I4th  of  January,  1880,  General  Garfield  was 
elected  by  the  legislature  of  Ohio  as  United  States 
senator,  to  succeed  Senator  Thurman,  whose  term  of 
office  expired  March  4,  1880.  During  the  evening 
after  the  election  an  informal  reception  was  held  in  the 
capitol  at  Columbus.  Many  of  his  political  opponents 
were  present. 

A  speech  was  called  for  and  General  Garfield  made 
a  brief  address.  "  I  should,"  he  said,  "  be  a  great  deal 
more  than  a  man,  or  a  great  deal  less  than  a  man,  if  I 


312  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

were  not  extremely  gratified  by  this  mark  of  your 
kindness  you  have  shown  me  in  recent  days.  I  did 
not  expect  any  such  a  meeting  as  this.  I  knew  there 
was  a  greeting  waiting  me,  but  did  not  expect  so  cor 
dial,  generous,  and  general  a  greeting,  without  distinc 
tion  of  party,  without  distinction  of  interests,  as  I  have 
received  here  to-night.  And  you  will  allow  me,  in  a 
moment  or  two,,  to  speak  of  the  memories  this  cham 
ber  awakens. 

"  Twenty  years  ago  this  last  week  I  first  stood  in  this 
chamber  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  public  life, 
in  which  I  have 'been  every  hour  since  that  time  in 
some  capacity  or  other.  I  left  this  chamber  eighteen 
years  ago,  and  I  believe  I  have  never  entered  it  since 
that  time.  The  place  is  familiar,  though  it  was  not 
peopled  alone  with  faces  that  I  see  before  me  here  to 
night,  but  with  the  faces  of  hundreds  of  people  that  I 
knew  here  twenty  years  ago,  a  large  number  of  whom 
are  gone  from  earth. 

"  It  was  here  in  this  chamber  that  the  word  was  first 
brought  of  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter.  I  remember 
distinctly  a  gentleman  from  Lancaster,  the  late  Sena 
tor  Schleigh  —  General  Schleigh,  who  died  not  very 
long  ago, —  I  remember  distinctly  as  he  came  down 
this  aisle  with  all  the  look  of  anxiety  and  agony  in  his 
face,  informing  us  that  the  guns  had  opened  upon  Sum 
ter.  I  remember  that  one  week  after  that  time,  on 
motion  of  a  leading  Democratic  senator  who  occupied 
a  seat  not  far  from  that  position  (pointing  to  the  Dem 
ocratic  side  of  the  chamber),  that  we  surrendered  this 
chamber  to  several  companies  of  soldiers,  who  had 


ADDRESS   ON  THE  FINANCES. 


313 


come  to  Columbus  to  tender  their  services  to  the  im 
periled  Government.  They  slept  on  its  carpets  and 
on  these  sofas,  and  quartered  for  two  or  three  nights 
in  this  chamber  while  waiting  for  other  quarters  out 
side  of  the  capitol. 

"All  the  early  scenes  of  the  war  are  associated  with  this 
place  in  my  mind.  Here  were  the  musterings  —  here 
was  the  center,  the  nerve-center,  of  anxiety  and  agony. 
Here  over  80,000  Ohio  citizens  tendered  their  services 
in  the  course  of  three  weeks  to  the  imperiled  nation. 
Here,  where  we  had  been  fighting  our  political  batteries 
with  sharp  and  severe  partisanship,  there  disappeared, 
almost  as  if  by  magic,  all  party  lines  ;  and  from  both 
sides  of  the  chamber  men  went  out  to  take  their 
places  on  the  field  of  battle.  I  can  see  now,  as  I  look 
out  over  the  various  seats,  where  sat  men  who  after 
ward  became  distinguished  in  the  service  in  high  rank, 
and  nobly  served  their  constituencies,  and  honored 
themselves. 

"  I  came  '  here,  fellow-citizens,  to  receive  an  expres 
sion  of  your  confidence  and  compliments  to  me.  I 
do  not  undervalue  the  office  that  you  have  tendered 
to  me  yesterday  and  to-day:  but  I  say,  I  think, 
without  any  mental  reservation,  that  the  manner  in 
which  it  was  tendered  to  me  is  far  higher  to  me,  far 
more  desirable,  than  the  thing  itself.  That  it  has 
been  a  voluntary  gift  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Ohio, 
without  solicitation,  tendered  to  me  because  of  their 
confidence,  is  as  touching  and  high  a  tribute  as  one 
man  can  receive  from  his  fellow-citizens,  and  in  the 


314  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

name  of  all  my  friends,  for  myself,  I  give  you  my 
thanks. 

"  We  now  come  to  this  place,  while  so  many  are 
gone ;  but  we  meet  here  to-night  with  the  war  so  far 
back  in  the  distance  that  it  is  an  almost  half  forgotten 
memory.  We  meet  here  to-night  with  a  nation  re 
deemed.  We  meet  here  to-night  under  the  flag  we 
fought  for.  We  meet  with  a  glorious,  a  great  and 
growing  republic,  made  greater  and  more  glorious  by 
the  sacrifices  through  which  the  country  has  passed. 
And  coming  here -as  I  do  to-night  brings  the  two  ends 
of  twenty  years  together,  with  all  the  visions  of  the 
terrible  and  glorious,  the  touching  and  cheerful,  that 
have  occurred  during  that  time. 

"  I  recognize  the  importance  of  the  place  to  which 
you  have  elected  me  ;  and  I  should  be  base  if  I  did  not 
also  recognize  the  great  man  whom  you  have  elected 
me  to  succeed.  I  say  for  him,  Ohio  has  had  few  larger- 
minded,  broader-minded  men  in  the  records  of  our  his 
tory  than  that  of  Allen  G.  Thurman.  Differing  widely 
from  him  as  I  have  done  in  politics,  and  do,  I  recognize 
him  as  a  man  high  in  character  and  great  in  intellect ; 
and  I  take  this  occasion  to  refer  to  what  I  have  never 
before  referred  to  in  public  —  that  many  years  ago,  in 
the  storm  of  party  fighting,  when  the  air  was  filled  with 
all  sorts  of  missiles  aimed  at  the  character  and  reputa 
tion  of  public  men,  when  it  was  even  for  his  party  in 
terest  to  join  the  general  clamor  against  me  and  my 
associates,  Senator  Thurman  said  in  public,  in  the  cam 
paign,  on  the  stump,  —  where  men  are  as  likely  to  say 
unkind  things  as  at  any  place  in  the  world,  —  a  most 


ADDRESS    ON  THE  FINANCES. 


315 


generous  and  earnest  word  of  defense  and  kindness  for 
me,  which  I  shall  never  forget  as  long  as  I  live.  I  say, 
moreover,  that  the  flowers  that  bloom  over  the  garden 
wall  of  party  politics  are  the  sweetest  and  most  fragrant 
that  bloom  in  the  gardens  of  this  world  ;  and  where 
we  can  early  pluck  them  and  enjoy  their  fragrance, 
it  is  manly  and  delightful  to  do  so. 

"  And  now,  gentlemen  of  the  General  Assembly, 
without  distinction  of  party,  I  recognize  this  tribute 
and  compliment  made  to  me  to-night.  Whatever  my 
own  course  may  be  in  the  future,  a  large  share  of  the 
inspiration  of  my  future  public  life  will  be  drawn  from 
this  occasion  and  these  surroundings,  and  I  shall  feel 
anew  the  sense  of  obligation  that  I  feel  to  the  State  of 
Ohio.  Let  me  venture  to  point  a  single  sentence  in 
regard  to  that  work.  During  the  twenty  years  that  I 
have  been  in  public  life,  almost  eighteen  of  it  in  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  I  have  tried  to  do  one 
thing.  Whether  I  was  mistaken  or  otherwise,  it  has 
been  the  plan  of  my  life  to  follow  my  conviction  at 
whatever  personal  cost  to  myself.  I  have  represented 
for  many  years  a  district  in  Congress  whose  approba 
tion  I  greatly  desired  ;  but  though  it  may  seem,  per 
haps,  a  little  egotistical  to  say  it,  I  yet  desired  still 
more  the  approbation  of  one  person,  and  his  name  was 
Garfield.  He  is  the  only  man  that  I  am  compelled  to 
sleep  with,  and  eat  with,  and  live  with,  and  die  with  ; 
and  if  I  could  not  have  his  approbation,  I  should  have 
bad  companionship.  And  in  this  larger  constituency 
which  has  called  me  to  represent  them  now,  I  can  only  do 
what  is  true  to  my  best  self,  applying  the  same  rules. 


316  JAMES   A.   GAR  FIELD. 

And  if  I  should  be  so  unfortunate  as  to  lose  the  con 
fidence  of  this  larger  constituency,  I  must  do  what 
every  other  fair-minded  man  has  to  do  —  carry  his 
political  life  in  his  hand  and  take  the  consequences. 
But  I  must  follow  what  seems  to  me  to  be  the  only  safe 
rule  of  my  life  ;  and  with  that  view  of  the  case,  and 
with  that  much  personal  reference,  I  leave  that  subject. 
"Thanking  you  again,  fellow-citizens,  members  of 
the  General  Assembly,  Republicans  and  Democrats  — 
all,  party-man  as  I  am,  —  thanking  you  both  for  what 
you  have  done  and  for  this  cordial  and  manly  greeting, 
I  bid  you  good-night." 


THE   CREDIT  MOB  I  HER.  317 


XXVI. 

THE   CREDIT   MOBILIER. 

DID  ever  a  noble  ship  plow  the  deep  without  encoun 
tering  a  storm  ?  Did  ever  an  individual  come  be 
fore  the  public,  especially  for  official  position,  who  was 
not  pecked  at  ?  The  propensity  to  pick  flaws  in  a  per 
son's  character  seems  to  be  ingrained  in  human  nature. 
Lord  Hamlet  of  Denmark  understood  this  trait  of  the 
race  when  he  said  to  the  pure  Ophelia : 

"Be  thou  as  chaste  as  ice,  as  pure  as  snow, 
Thou  shalt  not  escape  calumny." 

No  great  man  has  ever  escaped  it.  The  greatest 
statesman  that  ever  lived  —  Moses,  the  leader  of  Israel 
—  was  pecked  at  and  sorely  tried  by  the  rebellious 
and  fault-finding  rabble  whom  he  was  leading  from 
slavery  to  freedom.  John  the  Baptist  would  not  make 
himself  a  glutton  nor  a  sot,  and  his  calumniators  said 
that  he  had  a  devil.  The  purest  Being  that  ever  walked 
the  earth  accepted  hospitality,  and  was  accused  of 
being  a  drunkard.  He  entered  the  homes  of  the  poor 
and  lowly,  and  the  fault-finders  insinuated  that  his 
character  was  not  what  it  should  be,  if  he  consorted 
with  tax-gatherers  and  sinners. 


3i8  JAMBS  A.   GARFIELD. 

Calumniators  are  lynx-eyed  for  the  discovery  of  im 
perfections,  but  blind  to  virtue  and  goodness.  The 
partisan  detractor  is  an  assassin.  He  premeditates 
murder,  and  stabs  a  man's  reputation  without  remorse, 
and  with  fiendish  delight. 

The  man  who  enters  public  life  must  expect  to  have 
his  acts  criticised,  his  motives  maligned,  his  character 
picked  to  pieces.  A  man  who  has  been  before  the 
public  twenty  years,  who  has  had  positive  opinions, 
who  has  taken  part  in  the  discussion  of  all  the  great 
questions  growing  out  of  the  war,  must  expect  to  have 
the  calumniator  on 'his  track  when  he  comes  before  the 
people  as  a  candidate  for  President.  General  Garfield 
is  charged  with  having  been  concerned  in  the  Credit 
Mobilier,  and  of  having  voted  himself  extra  pay  for  ser 
vices  as  member  of  Congress. 

THE  CREDIT  MOBILIER. 

In  1859,  a  company  was  chartered  under  the  law  of 
Pennsylvania  for  the  purpose  of  building  houses,  buying 
land,  loaning  money,  and  various  other  things.  It  took 
the  name  of  "Credit  Mobilier,"  a  term  borrowed  from 
the  French. 

The  coming  on  of  the  war  put  a  stop  to  any  plans 
which  the  projectors  may  have  had  in  view.  Nothing 
was  heard  of  it  till  1866,  when  the  Pacific  Railroad  was 
under  construction.  Whether  it  was  George  Francis 
Train,  or  some  other  person,  who  first  brought  it  to  the 
attention  of  Mr.  Oakes  Ames,  who  was  pushing  that 
great  enterprise,  is  not  known,  but  Mr.  Ames  and  his 
associates  saw  an  opportunity  to  make  money,  by  using 


THE   CREDIT  MOBILIER. 

the  charter  of  the  Credit  Mobilier.  He  and  his  par 
ticular  associates  obtained  control,  not  only  of  the 
Credit  Mobilier,  but  of  a  majority  of  the  stock  of  the 
railroad  ;  this  was  done  by  obtaining  proxies  of 
the  other  stockholders,  who  knew  nothing  of  their 
intended  plan.  They  elected  themselves  directors. 

The  self-constituted  board  of  directors  made  a  con 
tract  with  the  Credit  Mobilier,  in  other  words,  with 
itself  and  associates,  to  build  the  road  at  an  enormous 
profit,  —  in  fact,  a  swindling  profit,  —  which  was  di 
vided  among  themselves  and  the  stockholders  who 
furnished  the  proxies,  ignoring  entirely  the  rights  and 
interest  of  the  minority  stockholders,  who  did  not  loan 
their  proxies,  and  also  that  of  the  United  States,  which 
had  donated  millions  of  acres  of  land  to  aid  in  building 
the  road,  and  which  also  indorsed  $60,000,000  of  its 
bonds,  taking  as  security  therefor  a  second  mortgage. 
For  the  purpose  of  guarding  against  Congressional 
scrutiny  into  this  gigantic  swindle,  it  was  stated  that 
Mr.  Atnes^vas  distributing  some  of  the  Credit  Mobilier 
stock  among  certain  members  of  Congress,  by  which 
to  purchase  their  influence.  The  real  character  of  the 
operations  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  at  that  time  was  not 
known  outside  of  the  ring. 

The  first  that  General  Garfield  ever  heard  of  the 
Credit  Mobilier  was  in  1866  or  1867,  when  Mr.  Train 
called  upon  him,  soliciting  a  subscription  to  the  stock. 
"The  object  of  the  company,"  said  Mr.  Train,  "is  to 
buy  land  where  cities  and  villages  are  to  spring  up. 
You  can  double  and  treble  your  investment  in  a  year." 

General  Garfield  informed  Mr.  Train  that  he  had  no 


320  JAMES  A.   GAR  PI  ELD. 

money,  and  that  if  he  had,  he  should  not  go  into  any 
such  enterprise  without  making  a  thorough  investiga 
tion  of  its  affairs. 

Mr.  Train  referred  Mr.  Garfield  to  Mr.  Oakes  Ames. 
It  was  natural  that  Mr.  Ames  should  think  well  of  the 
project  ;  but  Mr.  Garfield  did  not  pursue  his  inquiries, 
and  the  matter  dropped. 

A  year  passed.  The  railroad  was  under  rapid  con 
struction.  Towns  were  springing  up.  It  was  an  open 
secret  that  Mr.  Ames  and  his  associates  were  making 
a  great  deal  of  money  in  the  construction  of  the  road. 

There  came  a  day  when  Mr.  Ames,  who  was  member 
of  Congress,  asked  Mr.  Garfield  if  he  would  not  like  to 
invest. 

"  If  you  have  not  the  money  to  spare,  I  will  hold  the 
stock  till  you  can  find  it  convenient  to  pay  for  it,"  said 
Mr.  Ames. 

General  Garfield  said  that  he  would  consider  the 
proposition.  A  few  days  later  they  met,  and  General 
Garfield  informed  Mr.  Ames  that  he  had  decided  not  to 
invest. 

In  July,  1867,  General  Garfield  sailed  for  England. 
He  traveled  in  Scotland  and  on  the  Continent,  return 
ing  in  November  the  same  year. 

In  order  to  obtain  funds  for  the  trip,  before  going  he 
assigned  several  months'  advance-pay  of  his  congres 
sional  salary  to  a  banker,  who  furnished  him  with 
money.  When  he  returned,  he  was  in  want  of  $300, 
which  he  obtained  from  Oak  Ames,  and  which  he  re 
paid  in  money  in  1869. 

During   the   winter   of  '69,    '70,  Jeremiah   Black,  a 


THE   CREDIT  MOBILIER.  321 

leading  Democrat  lawyer,  with  a  large  practice  before 
the  Supreme  Court,  who,  though  differing  politically 
from  General  Garfield,  has  a  great  admiration  for  him, 
informed  him  that  his  name  was  upon  Oak  Ames's  book 
as  holding  ten  shares  of  the  Credit  Mobilier. 

It  was  the  first  intimation  that  General  Garfield  ever 
received  that  he  was  a  stockholder  in  that  company. 
He  had  never  subscribed  for  it,  nor  had  he  ever  author 
ized  Mr.  Ames  to  hold  it  for  him.  No  transaction  had 
ever  passed  between  them,  except  as  already  men 
tioned. 

In  1872  Henry  McComb,  of  Delaware,  who  had  been 
a  partner  in  all  the  Pacific  Railroad  transactions  with 
Oakes  Ames,  brought  suit  in  a  Pennsylvania  court 
against  various  parties  for  a  settlement  of  accounts. 
Among  the  papers  filed  was  a  letter  from  Oakes  Ames, 
stating  that  he  had  disposed  of  certain  shares  of  the 
Credit  Mobilier  stock  to  certain  persons  indicated  by 
initials  on  a  list,  and  McComb  explained  that  these 
initials  indicated  certain  persons,  members  of  Congress. 
Among  them  were  James  G.  Elaine,  the  Speaker  of  the 
House,  General  Garfield,  and  others. 

In  December  of  that  year  after  the  assembling  of 
Congress,  at  the  instigation  of  General  Garfield  and 
others,  Mr.  Elaine  himself  moved  the  appointment  of  a 
Committee  of  Investigation,  of  which  Judge  Poland 
of  Vermont  was  chairman. 

The  committee  made  a  thorough  investigation,  send 
ing  for  persons  and  papers. 

Mr.  Ames  appeared  before  them  December  17,  1872. 
He  mentioned  sixteen  members  of  Congress  with 

21 


322  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

whom  he  said  he  had  had  dealings  in  relation  to  the 
Credit  Mobilier ;  eleven  of  them  had  purchased  the 
stock,  but  General  Garfield  was  not  one  of  the  eleven. 
Mr.  Ames's  testimony  in  regard  to  General  Garfield 
was  as  follows  : 

"  Q.  In  reference  to  Mr.  Garfield,  you  say  that  you 
agreed  to  get  ten  shares  for  him,  and  to  hold  them  till 
he  could  pay  for  them,  and  that  he  never  did  pay  for 
them  nor  receive  them  ? 

A.    Yes,  sir. 

Q.  He  never  -paid  any  money  on  that  stock,  nor  re 
ceived  any  money  from  it  ? 

A.    Not  on  account  of  it. 

Q.    He  received  no  dividends  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  think  not.  He  says  he  did  not.  My 
own  recollection  is  not  very  clear. 

Q.  So  that,  as  you  understand,  Mr.  Garfield  never 
parted  with  any  money,  nor  received  any  money  on 
that  transaction  ? 

A.  No,  sir  ;  he  had  some  money  from  me  once,  some 
three  or  four  hundred  dollars,  and  called  it  a  loan.  He 
says  that  that  is  all  he  ever  received  from  me,  and  that 
he  considered  it  a  loan.  He  never  took  his  stock  and 
never  paid  for  it. 

Q.    Did  you  understand  it  so  ? 

A.  Yes  ;  /  am  willing  to  so  understand  it.  I  do 
not  recollect  paying  him  any  dividend,  and  have  forgot 
ten  that  I  paid  him  any  money" 

On  January  23,  1873,  five  weeks  after  the  above 
testimony  was  given  by  Mr.  Ames,  he  appeared  the 


THE    CREDIT  MOBILIER. 


323 


second  time  before  the  committee  with  a  memorandum 
in  which  there  was  an  entry  under  General  Garfield's 
name,  to  the  effect  that  the  stock  had  been  sold  for 
$329,  and  that  that  amount  was  paid  General  Garfield 
in  June,  1868  ;  that  he  did  not  pay  it  in  money,  but  by 
a  check  on  the  Sergeant-at-Arms. 

The  Sergeant-at-Arms,  Mr.  Dillon,  testified,  that  he 
paid  a  check  of  $329,  but  that  he  paid  it  to  Mr. 
Ames  himself  and  not  to  General  Garfield  (Testimony 

P-  350). 

Mr.  Ames's  testimony  extends  over  many  pages.  He 
admitted  that  his  memory  was  not  good,  and  that  he 
might  be  mistaken. 

General  Garfield  in  his  testimony  denied  ever  having 
agreed  to  take  any  stock,  or  authorizing  Mr.  Ames  to 
reserve  it  for  him.  Neither  had  he  ever  received  any 
dividends.  The  only  transaction  that  had  ever  taken 
place  between  Mr.  Ames  and  himself  was  the  loan  of 
$300.  General  Garfield  vindicated  himself  in  a  pam 
phlet  in  which  the  following  points  are  clearly  estab 
lished  by  the  evidence  : 

"  i.  That  I  neither  purchased  nor  agreed  to  purchase 
the  Credit  Mobilier  stock  which  Mr.  Ames  offered  to 
sell  me  ;  nor  did  I  receive  any  dividend  arising  from  it. 
Thus  it  appears  from  my  own  testimony ;  and  from  the 
first  testimony  given  by  Mr.  Ames,  which  is  not  over 
thrown  by  his  subsequent  statements,  and  is  strongly 
confirmed  by  the  fact  that  in  the  case  of  each  of  those 
who  did  purchase  the  stock,  there  was  produced,  as 
evidence  of  the  sale,  either  a  certificate  of  stock,  receipt 


324  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

of  payment,  a  check  drawn  in  the  name  of  the  payee, 
or  entries  in  Mr.  Ames's  diary  of  a  stock  account, 
marked,  adjusted,  and  closed,  but  that  no  one  of  these 
evidences  exist  in  reference  to  me.  This  position  is 
further  confirmed  by  the  subsequent  testimony  of  Mr. 
Ames,  who,  though  he  claims  that  I  did  receive  $329 
from  him  on  account  of  the  stock,  yet  he  repeatedly 
testifies  that  beyond  that  amount  I  never  received 
or  demanded  any  dividend,  that  he  did  not  offer  me 
any,  nor  was  the  subject  alluded  to  in  conversation  be 
tween  us. 

"  Mr.  Ames  admits,  on  page  40  of  his  testimony, 
that  after  December,  1867,  the  various  stock  and  bond 
dividends  on  the  stock  he  had  sold  amounted  to  an  ag 
gregate  of  more  than  800  per  cent. ;  and  that  between 
January,  1868,  and  May,  1871,  all  these  dividends  were 
paid  to  several  of  those  who  purchased"  the  stock.  My 
conduct  was  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  supposition 
of  such  ownership  ;  for,  during  the  year  1869,  I  was 
borrowing  money  to  build  a  house  here  in  Washington, 
and  was  securing  my  creditors  by  giving  mortgages  on 
my  property  ;  and  all  this  time  it  is  admitted  that  I 
received  no  dividends,  and  claimed  none. 

"  The  attempt  to  prove  a  sale  of  the  stock  to  me  is 
wholly  inconclusive  ;  for  it  rests,  first,  on  a  check  pay 
able  to  Mr.  Ames  himself,  concerning  which  he  several 
times  says  he  does  not  know  to  whom  it  was  paid  ;  and 
second,  upon  loose  undated  entries  in  his  diary,  which 
neither  prove  a  sale  of  the  stock,  nor  any  payment  on 
account  of  it. 

"  The  only  fact  from  which  it  is  possible  for  Mr. 


THE    CREDIT  MOBILIER. 


325 


Ames  to  have  inferred  an  agreement  to  buy  the  stock 
was  the  loan  to  me  of  $300.  But  that  loan  was  made 
months  before  the  check  of  June  22,  1868,  and  was 
repaid  in  the  winter  of  1869  ;  and  after  that  date  there 
were  no  transactions  of  any  sort  between  us. 

"And  finally,  before  the  investigation  was  ended, 
Mr.  Ames  admitted  that  on  the  chief  point  of  differ 
ence  between  us  he  might  be  mistaken. 

"On  page  356,  he  said  he  'considered  me  the  pur 
chaser  of  the  stock,  unless  it  was  borrowed  money  I 
had  of  him  ; '  and  on  page  461,  at  the  conclusion  of 
his  last  testimony,  he  said  : 

"  '  Mr.  Garfield  understands  this  matter  as  a  loan  ;  he 
says  I  did  not  explain  it  to  him.' 

"  Q.  You  need  not  say  what  Mr.  Garfield  says.  Tell 
us  what  you  think. 

"  A.  Mr.  Garfield  might  have  misunderstood  me. 
...  I  supposed  it  was  like  all  the  rest ;  but  when  Mr. 
Garfield  says  he  mistook  it  for  a  loan,  that  he  always 
understood  it  to  be  a  loan,  that  I  did  not  make  any  ex 
planation  to  him,  and  did  not  make  any  statement  to 
him,  I  may  be  mistaken.  I  am  a  man  of  few  words, 
and  I  may  not  have  made  myself  understood  to  him. 

"  2.  That  the  offer  which  Mr.  Ames  made  to  me,  as 
I  understood  it,  was  one  which  involved  no  wrong  or 
impropriety.  I  had  no  means  of  knowing,  and  had  no 
reason  for  supposing,  that  behind  this  offer  to  sell  me 
n.  small  amount  of  stock  lay  hidden  a  scheme  to  de 
fraud  the  Pacific  Railroad  and  imperil  the  interests  of 
the  United  States.  I  was  not  invited  to  become  a 
party  to  any  scheme  of  spoliation,  much  less  was  J 


226  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

aware  of  any  attempt  to  influence  my  legislative  action, 
or  any  subject  connected  therewith  ;  and  on  the  first 
intimation  of  the  real  nature  of  the  case,  I  declined 
any  further  consideration  of  the  subject. 

"  3.  That  whatever  may  have  been  the  facts  -:i  the 
case,  I  stated  them  in  my  testimony  as  I  have  always 
understood  them  ;  and  there  has  been  no  contradiction, 
prevarication,  or  evasion  on  my  part. 

"  If  there  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  who  is 
willing  to  believe  that,  for  $329,  I  have  bartered  away 
my  good  name,  and  to  falsehood  have  added  perjury, 
these  pages  are  not  addressed  to  him.  If  there  be  one 
who  thinks  that  any  part  of  my  public  life  has  been 
gauged  on  so  low  a  level  as  these  charges  would  place 
it,  I  do  not  address  him  ;  I  address  those  who  are  will 
ing  to  believe  that  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to  serve  the 
public  without  personal  dishonor.  I  have  endeavored, 
in  this  review,  to  point  out  the  means  by  which  the 
managers  of  a  corporation,  wearing  the  garb  of  honor 
able  industry,  have  robbed  and  defrauded  a  great  na 
tional  enterprise,  and  attempted  by  cunning  and  decep 
tion,  for  selfish  ends,  to  enlist  in  its  interest  those  who 
would  have  been  the  first  to  crush  the  attempt,  had 
their  objects  been  known. 

"  If  any  of  the  scheming  corporations  or  corrupt 
rings  that  have  done  so  much  to  disgrace  the  country 
by  their  attempts  to  control  its  legislation,  have  ever 
found  in  me  a  conscious  supporter  or  ally  in  any  dis 
honorable  scheme,  they  are  at  full  liberty  to  disclose  it. 
In  the  discussion  of  the  many  grave  and  difficult  ques 
tions  of  public  policy  which  have  occupied  the  thoughts 


THE    CREDIT  MOBILIER.  327 

of  the  nation  during  the  last  twelve  years,  I  have  borne 
some  part :  and  I  confidently  appeal  to  the  public  rec 
ords  for  a  vindication  of  my  conduct." 

EXTRA  CONGRESSIONAL  PAY. 

In  March,  1873,  the  term  "salary  grabber" — un 
known  till  then  in  English  language  —  came  into  use, 
through  the  passage  of  a  retroactive  law,  by  which  the 
pay  of  members  for  past  services  was  increased.  The 
bill  first  made  its  appearance,  together  with  a  report 
submitted  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Butler,  from  the  Judiciary  Com 
mittee  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  cm  the  7th  of 
February.  On  the  loth  of  February  Mr.  Butler  moved 
to  suspend  the  rules  and  adopt  a  resolution  directing 
the  incorporation  of  this  bill  with  the  miscellaneous 
appropriation  bill.  .The  motion  was  lost,  Garfield  voting 
in  the  negative.  It  came  up  again  in  various  forms  on 
the  28th  of  February,  and  Garfield  voted  against  it  five 
times.  Finally,  the  measure  came  before  a  conference 
committee  of  the  Senate  and  the  House.  Of  that  com 
mittee  Garfield  was  a  member.  He  opposed  in  the 
conference  that  part  of  the  appropriation  bill  which 
related  to  salaries  of  members  of  Congress,  but  signed 
the  report,  for  reasons  which  he  gave  in  a  speech  in 
the  House  on  the  3d  of  March.  He  said  : 

"  I  wish  to  state  in  a  few  words  the  condition  of  that 
[salaries-increase]  question  in  the  conference.  The 
Senate  conferees  were  unanimous  in  favor  of  fixing  the 
salary  at  $7,500,  and  cutting  off  all  allowance  except 
actual  individual  traveling  expenses  of  a  member  from 
his  home  to  Washington  and  back  again,  once  a  session. 


228  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

That  proposition  was  agreed  to  by  a  majority  of  the 
conferees  on  the  part  of  the  House.  /  was  opposed  to 
tJie  increase  in  the  conference  as  I  have  been  opposed  to 
it  in  the  discussion  and  in  my  votes  here  ;  but  my  asso 
ciate  conferees  were  in  favor  of  the  Senate  amendment, 
and  I  was  compelled  to  choose  between  signing  the 
report  and  running  the  risk  of  bringing  on  an  extra 
session  of  Congress.  I  have  signed  the  report,  and  I 
present  it  as  it  is,  and  ask  the  House  to  act  on  it  in 
accordance  with  its  best  judgment." 

MR.  HIBBARD,  of  New  Hampshire.  "  I  desire  to  ask 
the  gentleman  howmuch  plunder  will  be  taken  out  of 
the  Treasury,  if  this  raising  of  salaries  is  adopted  ? " 

MR.  GARFIELD.  "  I  am  glad  the  gentleman  has  asked 
me  that  question.  The  report  presented  here,  taking 
into  account  the  changes  made  with  reference  to  the 
salaries  of  members  and  officers  of  both  Houses,  will 
involve  an  annual  increase  of  expenditure  of  about 
three-quarters  of  a  million  of  dollars." 

MR.  HIBBARD.  "  How  much  for  the  present  Con 
gress  ?  '7 

MR.  GARFIELD.  "  For  the  present  Congress  it  involves 
an  additional  expenditure  of  about  one  and  a  quarter 
millions.  I  think  the  House  ought  to  know  all  the 
facts." 

General  Garfield  believed  that  Congress  had  no  right 
to  increase  its  own  pay.  It  was  a  moral  wrong,  for  which 
the  country  would  justly  hold  them  responsible  ;  but  the 
promoters  of  the  plan  had  attached  it  to  the  legislative 
appropriation  bill,  which,  if  defeated  during  the  closing 
hours  of  that  session,  would  involve  the  calling  of  an 


THE    CREDIT  MOBILIER. 


329 


extra  session.  What  should  he  and  those  that  believed 
with  him  do  ?  If  the  bill  was  defeated,  and  an  extra 
session  called,  would  they  not  be  held  responsible  ? 

The  bill  passed,  but  there  was  still  one  course  left  to 
those  who  had  opposed  it ;  they  could  draw  their  pay, 
and  return  it  to  the  Treasury. 

On  April  29,  1873,  a  list  of  those  who  had  so  dis 
posed  of  their  back  salaries  was  published  by  Treasurer 
Spinner,  from  which  it  appears  that  General  Garficld 
was  the  fourth  who  so  disposed  of  the  salary  that  had 
been  voted  him,  thus  washing  his  hands  from  any  taiflt 
of  iniquity. 

THE   DEGOLYER  CONTRACT. 

Partisan  defamers,  with  all  their  searching,  have  been 
able  to  bring  only  one  other  calumny  against  General 
Garfield,  and  that  in  relation  to  a  fee  which  he  received 
for  legal   services  from  DeGolyer,  McClelland  &  Chit- 
tenden,  contractors  for  paving  the  streets  of  Washing 
ton.     Another  member  of  the  firm  was  Mr.  Nickerson. 
who,    having   had  a  falling  out  with  his   co-partners 
sought  revenge. 

General  Garfield's  fee  was  for  an  argument  made  be 
fore  the  Board  of  Public  Wrorks  for  the  District  of 
Columbia,  and  Nickerson  charged  that  his  services 
were  secured  and  rewarded  for  the  sake  of  his  influ 
ence  in  Congress  —  General  Garneld  being  chairman 
of  the  House  Committee  on  Appropriations. 

When  the  charges  came  before  the  public,  General 
Garfield  demanded  a  hearing  before  a  committee  of 
investigation.  He  promptly  acknowledged  receiving  a 


330  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

fee  of  five  thousand  dollars,  but  denied  any  improper 
action.  He  stated  that  Mr.  Richard  C.  Parsons,  a 
practicing  lawyer  at  Cleveland,  had  been  retained  by 
DeGolyer  and  to  make  a  brief  of  the  relative  merits 
of  a  large  variety  of  wooden  pavements,  that  the  Board 
of  Works  had  agreed  to  put  down  a  certain  amount  of 
wooden,  concrete,  and  other  kinds  of  pavement,  that 
they  had  fixed  a  price  which  they  would  pay,  and  that 
the  only  thing  remaining  was  to  determine  which  was 
the  best  pavement  to  insure  a  large  contract. 

There  were  forty  kinds  presented.  Mr.  Parsons  was 
called  suddenly  to  Cleveland  and  retained  General  Gar- 
field  to  prepare  the  brief,  which  he  did  after  the  ad 
journment  of  Congress,  and  for  which  Mr.  Parsons 
paid, him  five  thousand  dollars.  He  had  nothing  to  do 
with  the  contract,  knew  nothing  of  the  conditions. 

General  Garfield  further  stated  that  it  never  occurred 
to  him  that  what  he  was  doing  would  have  the  remot 
est  connection  with  the  Committee  on  Appropriation, 
of  which  he  was  a  member. 

Mr.  Wilson,  of  Indiana,  a  member  of  the  committee 
in  1874,  when  the  matter  was  under  investigation  in 
Congress,  made  the  following  statement,  which  is  con 
clusive  of  the  whole  matter. 

"The  Board  of  Public  Works  was  considering  the 
question  as  to  the  kind  of  pavements  that  should  be 
laid.  There  was  a  contest  as  to  the  respective  merits 
of  various  wooden  pavements.  Mr.  Parsons  represented, 
as  attorney,  the  DeGolyer  &  McClelland  patent,  and, 
being  called  away  from  Washington  about  the  time  the 
hearing  was  to  be  had  before  the  Board  of  Public 


THE   CREDIT  MOBILIER. 


331 


Works  on  this  subject,  procured  General  Garfield  to 
appear  before  the  Board  in  his  stead  and  argue  the 
merits  on  this  patent.  This  he  did,  and  this  was  the 
whole  of  his  connection  in  the  matter.  It  was  not  a 
question  as  to  the  kind  of  contract  that  should  be  made, 
but  as  to  whether  this  particular  kind  of  pavement 
should  be  laid.  The  criticism  of  the  committee  was 
not  upon  \.\IQ  pavement  in  favor  of  which  General  Gar- 
field  argued,  but  was  upon  the  contract  made  with 
reference  to  it ;  and  there  was  no  evidence  which 
would  warrant  the  conclusion  that  he  had  anything  to 
do  with  the  latter." 

"  I  want  to  say,"  said  General  Garfield  to  the  com 
mittee,  "  that  if  anybody  in  the  world  holds  that  my  fee 
in  connection  with  this  pavement,  even  by  suggestion 
or  implication,  had  any  relation  whatever  to  any  appro 
priation  by  Congress  for  anything  connected  with  this 
District,  or  with  anything  else,  it  is  due  to  me,  it  is  due 
to  this  committee,  and  it  is  due  to  Congress,  that  that 
person  be  summoned.'  If  there  be  a  man  on  this  earth 
who  makes  such  a  charge,  that  man  is  the  most  infa 
mous  perjurer  that-lives,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  confront 
him  anywhere  in  this  world." 


332  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 


XXVII. 
HOME   AND    FAMILY. 

THE  home  of  General  Garfield  is  in  the  township 
of  Mentor,  twenty-five  miles  east  of  Cleveland. 
The  waters  of  Lake  Erie  form  its  northern  boundary, 
and  the  city  of  Painsville  joins  it  on  the  east.  The  old 
stage  road  from  Buffalo  to  Cleveland,  the  great  thor 
oughfare,  a  dusty  highway  once  crowded  with  emi 
grant  wagons,  with  its  frequent  inns,  passes  through 
the  township,  along  the  summit  of  a  sandy  ridge  which 
undoubtedly  was  once  the  shore  of  the  lake.  Now 
there  are  few  public-houses. 

"  To  the  mossy  wayside  tavern 

Comes  the  noisy  throng  no  more; 
And  the  faded  sign,  complaining, 
Swings  unnoticed  at  the  door." 

This  highway  leads  directly  to  Euclid  Avenue,  the 
most  beautiful  of  Cleveland's  streets. 

Mentor  is  an  agricultural  town.  The  soil  is  fertile, 
and  the  land  in  excellent  tilth.  The  farm-houses  are 
large  and  roomy,  indicating  thrift.  The  people  are  all 
well-to-do. 

"  We  have  no  poor  people,"  was  the  remark  of  a  citi 
zen  to  the  writer. 


HOME  AND  FAMILY.  333 

The  gentle  undulations  of  the  land,  the  groves  of  oak, 
maple,  c.iid  hickory,  the  green  fields,  remind  one  of 
some  of  the  charming  landscapes  of  Old  England. 

The  hawthorn  hedges,  with  their  milk-white  blos 
soms,  are  wanting,  but  here  and  there  are  green  hedges 
of  the  Osage  orange.  In  England,  the  village  church 
is  an  ancient  stone  structure,  gray  with  time,  its  tower 
mantled  with  ivy,  while  around  it, 

"  Beneath  those  rugged  elms  and  yew-tree  shade, 

Where  heaves  the  turf  in  many  a  mouldering  heap, 
Each  in  his  narrow  cell  forever  laid. 
The  rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep." 

In  Mentor,  the  village  churches  are  plain  white 
structures,  with  modest  spires  pointing  heavenward. 
There  is  the  country  store,  the  post-office,  the  school- 
house,  roomy  residences  with  grand  old  shade-trees  in 
front,  —  the  homes  of  the  farmers,  of  lords  of  the  soil, 
intelligent  citizens,  descendants  of  the  sturdy  New 
England  stock,  who  can  trace  their  lineage  back  to  the 
homes  of  the  Puritan  ancestors  in  Nottingham  or 
Devon. 

A  mile  or  more  west  of  the  Disciples  church,  on  the 
right  hand  side  of  the  old  highway,  stands  a  farm-house 
of  two  stories,  with  dormer  windows  in  its  roof.  Car 
penters  and  joiners  have  been  at  work  upon  the  edifice 
during  the  season,  raising,  enlarging,  and  transforming 
its  interior. 

There  is  a  wide  piazza  in  front,  with  old-fashioned 
arm-chairs.  Near  by  is  a  small  building,  the  workshop 
of  the  proprietor.  Behind  the  house  is  a  barn  with 
stalls  for  five  horses,  and  a  carriage-house.  Not  far  off  is 


334  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

a  kitchen-garden,  with  its  beds  of  beets,  turnips,  and 
cabbages.  There  are  cherry  and  peach  trees,  currant 
bushes,  and  in  front  of  the  mansion  maples,  which  cast 
a  graceful  shade.  This  is  "  Lawnfield,"  the  home  of 
General  Garfield,  with  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
acres,  reaching  away  toward  the  blue  waters  of  Lake 
Erie. 

He  purchased  it  four  years  ago.  Prior  to  that  time 
Hiram  was  his  home,  but  it  is  not  situated  on  any  rail 
road,  and  he  moved  to  Mentor,  to  be  on  the  great 
thoroughfare,  and  -at  the  same  time  conveniently  near 
Cleveland.  This  removal  was  a  grief  to  the  citizens  of 
Hiram,  but  gave  great  gratification  to  the  people  of 
Mentor  and  vicinity. 

General  Garfield  has  greatly  improved  his  farm  since 
purchasing  it.  Neat  fences  have  taken  the  place  of 
the  decaying  and  unsightly  zigzag  rails.  He  has  re 
cently  drained  a  swampy  section,  and  expects  a  large 
yield  of  grain  from  what  has  thus  been  reclaimed. 

During  his  Congressional  vacations,  he  finds  great 
pleasure  in  looking  after  affairs  on  the  farm,  occasion 
ally  spending  a  portion  of  a  forenoon  in  holding  a 
plow,  or  performing  some  part  in  the  harvest-field. 
The  premier  of  England  —  Gladstone  —  finds  recrea 
tion  in  wood-chopping,  and  so  does  General  Garfield. 
He  has  not  forgotten  how  to  swing  the  ax.  The  farm 
is  well  provided  with  barns,  which  are  neatly  painted. 
In  the  pastures  are  some  fine-blooded  stock. 

In  purchasing  the  farm,  General  Garfield  had  in  view 
a  home  —  a  place  where  his  children  could  be- under 
the  pure  influences  of  a  well-ordered  community,  where 


HOME  AND  FAMILY.  335 

they  would  attain  simple  habits,  enjoy  healthful  exer 
cise  and  pure  fresh  air. 

"  It  is  .strange,"  said  General  Garfield  to  a  party  of 
visitors,  as  he  conducted  them  over  his  fertile  fields, 
"  how  a  man  will  revive  his  early  attachments  to  farm- 
life.  For  twenty-five  years,  I  scarcely  remained  on  a 
farm  for  a  longer  period  than  a  few  days,  but  now  I  am 
an  enthusiast.  I  can  see  now  what  I  could  not  see 
when  I  was  a  boy.  It  is  delightful  to  watch  the  grow 
ing  crops." 

It  is  a  great  relief  to  General  Garfield,  when  he  can 
hasten  hither  from  the  wearying  life  at  Washington. 
Here  he  can  find  time  to  revive  his  acquaintance  with 
the  classics  ;  to  commune  with  Nature.  He  is  not 
singular  in  this  ;  it  seems  to  be  a  characteristic  of 
statesmen.  Washington  loved  life  as  he  found  it  at 
Mount. Vernon  ;  Jefferson  delighted  in  looking  after 
affairs  at  Monticello.  To  Henry  Clay  there  was  no 
pleasure  like  that  of  Ashland.  Beneath  the  elms  of 
Marshfield,  by  the  sounding  sea,  or  strolling  in  his  pas 
ture,  the  sleek  Jersey  cows  licking  salt  from  his  hand, 
Daniel  Webster  found  peace  and  rest  after  the  hot  de 
bates  of  the  Senate.  So  at  Lawnfield  —  his  hands  upon 
the  plow,  the  summer  sun  bronzing  his  face,  the  health 
ful  breezes  of  Lake  Erie  fanning  his  cheeks  —  General 
Garfield  revives  his  acquaintance  with  Nature,  and 
reads  over  the  exploits  of  Achilles  and  Agamemnon. 

Partially  in  rear  of  the  dwelling  is  a  small  building 
which  General  Garfield  calls  his  workshop,  containing 
his  working  library,  books  of  reference,  public  docu 
ments,  and  the  immense  amount  of  material  which 


336  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

a  statesman  accumulates  during  a  period  of  twenty 
years  of  active  life. 

General  Garfield  is  methodical  in  his  work.  At  the 
beginning  of  public  life  he  began  the  making  of  scrap- 
books  —  the  saving  of  material  for  future  use  ;  so  that 
it  is  but  the  work  of  a  moment  to  lay  his  hand  upon  a 
speech,  a  statement,  tables  of  statistics,  opinions  that 
were  indexed  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago.  His  scrap-books 
are  a  library  of  themselves,  invaluable  to  a  statesman. 

All  of  his  orders  while  in  the  army  as  commander  of 
a  brigade,  as  chief-of-staff  to  Rosecrans,  are  copied 
and  filed.  The  future  historian  may  turn  to  them 
and  see  just  how  the  plans  were  laid,  and  how  the 
army  marched  during  Tallahoma  and  Chattanooga 
campaigns,  —  what  orders  were  issued  during  the  two 
days'  struggle  at  Chickamauga. 

General  Garfield  carries  method  into  all  the  affairs 
of  life.  His  plans  are  clearly  defined.  The  habit  of 
working  methodically,  acquired  in  the  Institute  of 
Hiram,  enables  him  to  turn  off  a  great  amount  of  work, 
and  he  does  it  without  wearying.  He  dislikes  the  labor 
of  writing,  and  usually  employs  a  stenographer.  A 
well-balanced  brain,  the  discipline  of  the  mind,  a  grand 
physique,  and  a  temperate  life,  enables  him  to  continue 
his  labors  hour  after  hour,  and  be  as  fresh  at  the  close. 

Mr.  Garfield  was  married,  as  has  been  stated  in 
another  chapter,  while  President  at  Hiram,  to  Miss 
Lucretia  Rudolph.  Mrs.  Garfield  is  in  the  bloom  of  a 
beautiful  womanhood.  A  writer  in  the  Independent, 
Mary  Clemmer,  who  has  long  known  her,  renders  this 
tribute : 


HOME  AND  FAMILT. 


337 


"  Mrs.  Garfield  abides  beyond  a  question.  With  a 
less  brilliant  and  positive  presence,  with  a  less  vital  and 
powerful  temperament  than  those  which  have  made 
Mrs.  Hayes  the  force  for  beauty  and  good  which  she 
is  in  the  White  House,  Mrs.  Garfield  has  a  charm  as 
unique  and  real,  all  her  own.  Unconsciously,  I  made 
myself  the  liege  of  this  lady  years  ago.  It  was  when 
a  woman  (called  a  '  woman  of  genius ')  said,  pityingly, 
to  me,  as  she  surveyed  General  Garfield  on  the  floor  of 
the  House: 

"  '  How  unfortunate  that  his  wife  is  not  his  equal ! ' 

" '  Do  you  know  Mrs.  Garfield  ? '  I  asked. 

"  <  No  ;  but  I  have  heard.'  " 

" '  I  know  her/  I  said,  '  and  know  that  she  is  her 
husband's  equal  not  only,  but  in  more  than  one  respect 
his  superior.  She  has  'the  philosophic  mind'  that 
Wadsworth  sings  of;  she  has  a  self-poise,  a  strength 
of  unswerving,  absolute  rectitude  her  husband  has  not 
and  never  will  have,  though  her  temperament  does  not 
give  her  the  capacity  for  the  seasons  of  moral  enthusi 
asm  which  are  possible  to  him.  Much  of  the  time  that 
other  women  give  to  distributing  visiting-cards,  in  the 
frantic  effort  to  make  themselves  '  leaders  of  society/ 
Mrs.  Garfield  spends  in  the  alcoves  of  the  Congres 
sional  Library,  searching  out  books  to  carry  home  to 
study  while  she  nurses  her  children.  You  may  be  sure 
of  one  thing :  the  woman  who  reads  and  studies  while 
she  rocks  her  babies  will  not  be  left  far  behind  her  hus 
band  in  the  march  of  actual  growth.' 

"  That  was  ten  years  ago.  Since  then  I  have  seen 
many  women  come  to  the  surface  of  capitolian  life  out 

22 


338  JAMES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 

of  obscurity,  and  go  back  into  obscurity  again  ;  have 
seen  hundreds  of  so-called  'leaders  of  society'  shrivel 
and  go  out  in  the  scorching  flame  of  fashion  ;  while  I 
have  followed  with  a  tender  heart  this  woman,  the  wife 
of  a  famous  man,  —  a  woman  whom  nobody  called  '  a 
leader.'  She,  meanwhile,  has  not  been  lifted  off  her 
feet,  as  many  women  are,  by  her  husband's  rising  for 
tunes  ;  no  '  spreading '  forth  in  style  of  dress  or  living  ; 
no  'airs.'  And  in  Washington,  in  official  life,  that 
means  everything — indicative  of  character.  She  has 
moved  on  in  the  tr-anquil  tenor  of  her  unobtrusive  way, 
in  a  life  of  absolute  devotion  to  her  duty ;  never  for 
getting  the  demands  of  her  position  or  neglecting  her 
friends,  yet  making  it  her  first  charge  to  bless  her 
home,  to  teach  her  children,  to  fit  her  boys  for  college, 
to  be  the  equal  friend,  as  well  as  the  honored  wife,  of 
her  husband.  Gentle,  patient,  unobtrusive  almost  to 
timidity,  wise  in  speech  and  action,  keenly  intelligent, 
liberally  educated,  conscientiously  devoted  to  every 
thing  good,  —  this  is  the  woman  who  will  perpetuate 
the  loving,  consecrated  life  that  to-day  abides  in  the 
White  House,  if  as  its  mistress  she  enters  it." 

Mrs.  Garfield  while  at  Hiram,  was  a  member  of  the 
"  Olive  Branch  Society,"  a  literary  organization,  which 
held  a  reunion  in  1877.  In  a  poem  given  on  that  oc 
casion  by  Mrs.  Eliza  G.  Glashier,  a  tender  tribute  was 
paid  Mrs.  Garfield : 

"  With  heart  as  leal  and  loving, 
As  e'er  was  sung  in  lays 
Of  high  born  Roman  matron, 
In  old  heroic  days. 


c*U^2/Z^Z 


JAMES  H.EARLE. BOSTON. 


HOME  AND  FAMILT.  339 

Honor  and  fame  her  steps  attend, 
Worthy  the  soldier's  name  to  bear 
Worthy  the  civic  wreath  to  share, 
That  binds  our  Viking's  tawny  hair, 
And  glad  are  we  the  world  should  know, 
As  Hero,  him  we  long  ago, 
Found  truest,  helper,  friend." 

Five  children,  four  sons  and  a  daughter,  make 
Lawnfield  a  merry,  happy  home.  The  two  eldest  sons, 
Harry  A.  and  James  R.,  are  attending  school  at  Con 
cord,  N.  H. 

The  third  son,  Irvin  McDowell,  illustrates  in  his 
name,  the  generous  nature  of  General  Garfield,  and 
not  only  that,  but  it  exhibits  his  love  of  justice. 

General  McDowell  was  appointed  commander  of  the 
army  that  fought  the  first  battle  at  Bull  Run,  against 
his  protestations.  He  was  regarded  with  suspicion  and 
jealousy  by  General  Scott,  then  in  his  dotage.  After 
the  defeat,  General  McDowell  was  suspended  by  Mc- 
Clellan,  and  received  no  other  important  command  dur 
ing  the  war.  General  Garfield  in  common  with  many 
other  citizens  felt  that  McDowell  had  not  received 
fair  treatment. 

"  Having  had,"  said  General  Garfield,  "  a  personal 
acquaintance  with  General  McDowell,  I  knew  him  to 
be  an  upright  man,  and  a  good  officer,  and  consequently 
protested  slightly  to  the  abuse  heaped  upon  him  by 
giving  my  son  his  name." 

The  youngest  boy,  Abram,  is  six  years  old ;  the 
daughter,  Mollie,  thirteen. 

The  mother  of  General  Garfield  resides  with  him,  in 
the  enjoyment  of  excellent  health,  though  seventy-eight 


34O  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

years  of  age,  attending  now,  as  in  early  years,  to  the 
duties  of  life,  manifesting  the  same  sweet  spirit,  un 
changed  by  the  honors  that  have  come  upon  her  illus 
trious  son  ;  and  it  is  the  son's  highest  pleasure  to  ten 
derly  care  for  the  mother. 

No  profane  word,  no  unseemly  jest,  no  ribaldry,  is 
ever  heard  at  Lawnfield.  No  wines  sparkle  on  its 
table.  The  moral  atmosphere  is  as  sweet,  pure  and 
healthgiving  to  heart  and  soul,  as  the  breezes  from 
Lake  Erie  to  the  body.  It  is  a  Christian  family,  —  a 
Christian  home. 


THE  MAN.  341 


XXVIII. 
THE  MAN. 

TAMES  A.  GARFIELD  has  been  endowed  by  na- 
J  ture  with  a  grand  physique.  In  the  lives  of  his 
ancestry  there  must  have  been  stalwart  men.  He  is 
broadly  and  strongly  built,  and  in  stature  above  the  medi 
um  height.  There  must  be  prodigious  strength  of 
muscle  in  the  arms  of  a  man,  who,  when  sixteen  years 
old,  could  cut  two  cords  of  wood  between  sun  and 
sun  ;  and  there  must  be  great  endurance  of  fibre, 
that  could  continue  it  fifty  days  without  flinching. 
Such  strength  of  muscle  enables  General  Garfield  to 
lift  great  weights. 

At  Pittsburgh  Landing,  in  1862,  a  line  of  teams 
came  down  from  the  army  for  rations.  There  were  so 
many  wagons  to  be  loaded  that  great  despatch  was 
necessary.  A  fine-looking  soldier,  wearing  a  blue  over 
coat,  presented  his  requisition.  The  commissary  saw 
him  take  up  a  barrel  of  flour  and  toss  it  into  a  wagon, 
as  if  it  required  no  effort. 

"  I  suppose  you  will  require  a  receipt  for  these  pro 
visions,"  said  the  soldier  to  the  commissary. 

"  Yes,  your  commanding  officer  must  receipt  for  it" 

"  Can't  I  sign  it  ? " 


342  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

"  O  no,  it  must  be  signed  by  a  commissioned 
officer." 

"  Very  well,  I'm  a  Brigadier  General.  My  name  is 
Garfield." 

General  Garfield's  face  is  the  index  of  his  character  , 
it  is  beaming  with  kindness  ;  but  in  the  lines  of  his 
countenance  one  can  see  sturdiness,  energy,  pluck,  and 
the  calmness  and  coolness  of  an  evenly  balanced  brain  ; 
steady  nerves,  and  a  will  controlled  by  moral  forces. 
It  is  the  face  of  a  man  not  easily  frightened. 

It  was  at  Chestertown,  in  Maryland,  in  October, 
1863,  that  General  Garfield  addressed  a  public  meet 
ing,  at  the  solicitation  of  Hon.  Henry  Winter  Davis. 
Rotten  eggs  were  hurled  at  him.  He  gazed  calmly  and 
steadily  upon  the  assembly,  and  said : 

"  I  have  just  emerged  frem  the  rain  and  hail  of  Chick- 
amatiga  ;  I  have  faced  the  worst  that  rebels  can  do,  and 
do  you  think  I  can  be  frightened  by  cowards  ? " 

It  is  the  calm  man  who  stills  the  storm.  No  more 
eggs,  but  silent  respect  from  the  humbled  audience. 

General  Garfield's  eyes  are  bright  and  hopeful. 
There  is  no  insincerity  or  revenge  in  them.  A  physi 
ognomist  would  say  that  a  man  with  such  an  eye  never 
would  take  gloomy  views  of  things,  even  when  things 
were  at  their  worst.  It  would  not  be  possible  for  him 
to  be  a  pessimist. 

In  his  bearing,  General  Garfield  is  frank,  cordiaj, 
generous.  He  has  an  intense  hatred  of  wrong,  but  is 
ever  ready  to  forgive  the  wrong-doer,  the  moment  the 
wrong  is  acknowledged. 

"  I   would  clasp  hands,"  he  said,  in  a  speech  last 


THE  MAN. 


343 


year  at  Dayton,  "with  those  who  fought  against  us  ; 
make  them  my  brethren,  and  forgive  the  past  on  one 
supreme  condition :  that  the  cause  for  which  they 
fought  was,  and  forever  will  be,  the  cause  of  treason 
and  wrong.  Until  this  is  acknowledged,  my  hand 
shall  never  grasp  any  rebel  hand  across  any  chasm 
however  small." 

From  being  strictly  temperate  in  all  things,  General 
Garfield  is  in  good  health. 

"The  advantage  of  a  strong  pulse,"  says  Emerson, 
"is  not  to  be  supplied  by  any  labor,  art,  or  concert. 
It  is  like  the  climate,  which  easily  raises  a  crop,  which 
no  glass,  or  irrigation,  or  tillage,  or  manures,  can  else 
where  rival." 

We  have  seen  what  this  strong-pulsed  man  accom 
plished  in  his  boyhood  —  in  his  school  days.  We  know 
what  he  has  accomplished  in  his  maturer  years.  He 
has  lived  in  accordance  with  nature's  laws,  and  nature 
has  accordingly  endowed  him  with  her  strength.  He 
can  lift  great  weights,  can  endure  great  hardships,  and 
accomplish  great  things.  He  can  work  all  night  if 
need  be ;  but  that  is  not  in  accordance  with  nature  ;  it 
is  only  when  the  demand  is  imperative,  that  he  makes 
any  extra  draft  on  his  strength.  He  is  an  indefatigable 
worker.  It  is  in  his  blood,  coming  down  from  his 
New  England  ancestry.  It  is  his  nature  to  work. 

"  A  man  accustomed  to  work,"  says  Campbell,  the 
poet,  "  is  equal  to  any  achievement  that  he  may  re 
solve  to  accomplish.  James  A.  Garfield,  when  a 
school-boy  at  Geauga,  cooking  his  breakfasts  in  a  fry- 


344  JAMES  A.   GARFIBLD. 

ing-pan,  fixed  his  eye  on  a  definite  object  far  away  ; 
he  never  lost  sight  of  it  —  he  attained  it. 

"  How  have  you  been  able  to  make  your  discoveries  ? " 
asked  a  gentleman  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton. 

"  By  always  intending  my  mind,"  replied  the  dis 
coverer  of  the  law  of  gravitation. 

General  Garfield  has  his  hours  of  recreation  ;  when 
thought  and  care  are  cast  aside  ;  but  when  the  hour 
for  work  comes,  he  sits  down  to  his  labors  with  the  ap 
petite  of  a  hungry  man  to  his  dinner. 

We  have  already  seen  the  determination,  character 
istic  of  General  Garfield,  manifested  in  his  boyhood,  in 
pushing  the  jack-plane,  and  when  he  engaged  to  cut  one 
hundred  cords  of  wood  at  twenty-five  cents  per  cord  ; 
but  to  complete  that  job,  something  more  than  deter 
mination  was  requisite. 

Another  element  of  character  was  called  into  activ 
ity  — perseverance.  It  was  a  contract  not  to  be  finished 
in  a  day,  but  for  a  period  of  nearly  six  weeks  ;  he  must 
be  up  before  daylight,  wielding  the  ax  before  the  sun 
made  its  appearance  above  the  eastern  hills,  and  when 
it  disappeared  in  the  west  at  night,  he  must  still  be 
waking  the  echoes  of  the  forest  with  his  sturdy  blows, 
to  accomplish  his  self-allotted  task  of  two  cords  per 
clay.  There  were  blisters  on  his  palms,  aches  stream 
ing  up  his  arms  ;  he  went  to  bed  weary.  It  was  the 
routine  of  weeks,  and  there  was  no  let  up  on  the  part 
of  the  boy  of  sixteen.  Determination  and  persever 
ance  carried  him  through  Hiram  and  Williams,  and 
brought  him  to  manhood.  The  responsibilities  of  life 


THE  MAN.  345 

were  upon  him,  and  with  them  came  another  element 
of  character  —  courage. 

We  saw  the  spirit  that  was  in  him  when  the  boy  of 
sixteen  confronted  the  brawny  boatman  and  laid  him 
sprawling  on  the  deck,  and  the  quick  generosity  that 
made  the  conquered  boatman  his  friend.  The  same 
spirit  carried  him  through  the  hardships  and  difficul 
ties  of  a  midwinter  campaign  to  the  victory  of  Middle 
Creek,  which  led  him  singly  and  alone  to  confront  the 
opinions  of  seventeen  generals  in  the  movement  on 
Tallahoma,  which  impelled  him  to  ride  through  the 
leaden  hail  of  Chickamauga.  In  the  planning  of  the 
Chickamauga  campaign  we  have  witnessed  judgment 
adjusting  its  balances,  calmly  weighing  difficulties, 
forming  deliberate  opinions,  summoning  determination, 
courage,  and  perseverance  to  execute  the  plans,  and 
winning  the  campaign.  Such  power  of  judgment  re 
quires  foresight  —  that  faculty  of  mind  which  can  look 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  — estimating  everything 
at  its  just  value. 

But  these  are  physical  and  mental  qualities ;  an  indi 
vidual  may  have  them  and  yet  not  be  a  man. 

"Worth  makes  the  man." 

A  century  has  rolled  away  since  Alexander  Pope 
penned  the  words,  but  time  has  not  diminished  their 
truthfulness.  It  was  but  the  expression  of  a  universal 
truth. 

The  fiber  of  James  A.  Garfield's  manhood  has  other 
qualities,  higher  and  nobler  —  those  that  constitute 
character.  No  child  is  born  with  character;  it  does 


346  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

not  come  by  birth,  nor  is  it  attained  in  a  day.  It  is 
growth  —  the  bloom  of  childhood  —  the  fruitage  of  ma- 
turer  years.  It  cannot  be  put  on  and  off  like  a  garment 
at  pleasure,  worn  to-day,  laid  aside  to-morrow  ;  it  is  an 
unchangeable  habit.  It  is  not  what  others  think  of  us  ; 
it  is  what  we  are.  God's  balance  places  Justice,  Truth, 
and  Right  in  one  scale,  and  ourselves  in  the  other.  No 
man  ever  yet  tipped  the  beam.  Some  men  come 
nearer  doing  it  than  others,  and  he  who  comes  nearest 
weighs  most. 

The  citizens  of  Ashtabula  county  who  know  James 
A.  Garfield  best,  have  given  expression  to  their  appre 
ciation  of  his  character  and  reputation  by  keeping  him 
in  Congress  eighteen  years  ;  the  people  of  Ohio  pub 
lished  their  judgment  to  the  world  during  the  past 
winter,  by  electing  him  to  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  and  now  the  Republican  party,  in  the  strength 
'and  vigor  of  its  manhood,  proclaims  its  faith  in  his 
character  by  selecting  him  to  fill  the  highest  office  in 
the  gift  of  the  nation. 

"  Talents"  says  Goethe,  "  are  nurtured  best  in  solitude, 
but  character  on  life's  tempestuous  sea.".  Have  there 
been  any  seas  more  tempestuous  than  that  over  which 
James  A.  Garfield  has  sailed  ?  —  the  blood-red  sea, 
swept  by  the  storms  of  civil  war  —  the  putting  down 
of  the  most  gigantic  rebellion  in  the  annals  of  history, 
the  liberation  of  four  million  of  slaves,  their  enfran 
chisement,  the  settlement  of  great  questions  relating 
to  human  rights,  personal  liberty,  the  finances,  involv 
ing  the  permanency  of  the  Republic,  its  mighty  future 
and  the  welfare  of  forty  millions  of  people  ? 


THE  MAN.  347 

In  the  discussion  of  these  General  Garfield  has  man 
ifested  ever  catholicity  of  spirit.  .  He  is  no  bigot. 
Prejudice  is  foreign  to  his  nature.  He  has  no  blows  to 
give  to  an  antagonist  prostrate  at  his  feet.  The  raised 
arm  dropped,  the  muscles  of  his  clenched  fist  relaxed, 
when,  in  his  boyhood,  the  brawny  boatman  called 
parley.  Political  opponents  respect  .one  so  fearless, 
honorable,  and  just.  Many  of  his  political  opponents 
are  his  personal  friends.  His  mind  is  judicial.  He  is 
not  like  the  knight  who  saw  only  one  side  of  the 
shield  ;  he  sees  the  other  side.  His  generosity,  kind 
ness  of  heart,  sense  and  honor  prompts  him  to  do 
things  which  in  feudal  days,  and  in  the  Southern  States 
to-day,  would  be  called  chivalrous,  but  which  with 
General  Garfield  is  simply  doing  his  duty.  Such  a 
man  will  be  honest  in  his  convictions.  He  may  make 
mistakes  ;  there  may  be  error  of  judgment,  but  his  ac 
tion  will  be  sincere.  His  convictions  of  justice  and 
right  have  made  him  the  unflinching  lover  of  Truth 
and  Liberty,  the  earnest  advocate  of  Human  Rights, 
the  upright  citizen,  the  unostentatious  Christian,  the 
honest  man. 


348  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 


XXIX. 
ANECDOTES   AND    INCIDENTS. 

SINCE  the  first  pages  of  this  sketch  were  written, 
many  letters  have  been  received  from  those  who 
knew  General  Garfield  in  boyhood,  and  others  who 
have  been  intimate  with  him  through  his  maturer 
years.  While  they  may  not  present  anything  of  great 
importance,  yet  they  illuminate,  as  it  were,  his  life. 

Rev.  S.  D.  Bates,  pastor  of  the  Free-will  Baptist 
Church,  Marion,  O.,  and  now  President  of  Ridgeville 
College,  Ind.,  was  the  enthusiastic  young  teacher  of  the 
district  school  in  Orange,  who  had  much  to  do  with 
turning  General  Garfield  from  the  canal  to  the  college. 
"  My  school  at  Orange,"  writes  Mr.  Bates,  "  was  large 
and  forward  in  the  winter  of  1848-9,  and  I  was  pressed 
for  time  to  do  all  my  work.  To  obviate  this  difficulty, 
I  had  an  Arithmetic  class  of  fifteen  advanced  students 
meet  me  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  to  whom  I 
gave  a  full  hour,  explaining  and  illustrating  the  prin 
ciples  involved,  as  a  specialty  in  the  exercises.  The 
widowed  mother  of  Garfield  lived  nearest  to  the  school- 
house,  on  the  north.  James  had  come  home  just 
before  I  commenced  teaching,  at  the  close  of  canal 
navigation,  sick  with  the  ague  and  fever,  contracted 


ANECDOTES  AND  INCIDENTS. 


349 


while  on  the  canal.  During  nearly  the  entire  winter 
he  had  an  ague-chill  every  morning,  and  a  burning 
fever  each  evening.  In  the  early  morning  he  felt 
comfortably  well,  and  most  of  the  winter  came  in  weak 
ness  to  the  eight  o'clock  Arithmetic  recitation.  That 
one  hour  was  all  the  time  he  was  able  to  be  in  school 
each  day  till  nearly  spring.  The  circumstances  made 
his  appearance  haggard  and  forbidding.  He  was  then, 
though  only  seventeen  years  of  age,  as  tall  as  now,  but 
thin  in  flesh,  pale  and  sallow  in  countenance,  and,  of 
course,  largely  uncultivated  in  manner.  In  appearance, 
he  was  unprepossessing.  I  soon  saw,  however,  that  his 
painful  effort  to  reach  the  morning-class  exercise,  in 
dicated  a  burning  thirst  for  learning,  and  I  was  not 
long  in  discovering  that,  underneath  the  rough  ex 
terior,  there  was  a  jewel,  a  bright,  sharp,  comprehensive 
intellect.  Though  in  such  feeble  health,  he  soon  proved 
himself  the  best  in  the  class,  being  at  the  same  time 
one  of  the  youngest.  I  believed  he  had  the  '  stuff  in 
him '  to  make  a  splendid  student,  if  he  could  be  induced 
to  give  some  years  to  study.  How  to  do  this  was  the 
difficult  problem  to  solve.  He  had  himself  a  passion 
for  the  sea.  Tfye  blue  waters  of  Lake  Erie  had  a  fasci 
nation  that  seemed  impossible  for  him  to  resist.  As  his 
health  improved  towards  spring,  he  seemed  bound  to 
go  upon  the  lake  when  navigation  should  open. 

44  It  was  useless  to  talk  to  him  then  about  a  course  of 
study.  I  tried,  and  succeeded  in  the  experiment  of 
leading  him  simply  one  step  at  a  time. 

"  I  said  to  him,  '  James,  you  are  not  sound  enough  in 
health  yet  to  endure  the  hard  work,  the  kicks  and 


350  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

cuffs,  and  rough  usage  incident  to  a  beginner's  life  in 
sailing.  Go  with  me,  in  March,  to  the  seminary,  get  a 
little  more  education,  and  in  the  coming  fall,  when  in 
sound  health,  go  on  the  lake  a  few  months.' 

"  His  mother,  who  was  altogether  unwilling  to  have 
her  son  become  a  sailor,  most  heartily  seconded  my 
efforts.  Two  other  young  men,  one  a  cousin  of  Gar- 
field,  decided  to  go  with  me  to  the  seminary,  and, 
finally,  by  the  combined  persuasion  of  all,  he  decided 
to  go.  That  moment  was  the  turning  point  in  his  life 
and  destiny." 

We  have  seen  how  the  young  student  planed 
boards,  and  worked  as  a  carpenter,  to  pay  his  way 
through  Hiram.  A  letter  from  a  gentleman  in  Detroit, 
Dr.  Alonzo  Harlow,  informs  us  of  his  acquiring  pen 
manship  and  a  knowledge  of  business  forms ;  quali 
fying  himself  as  teacher,  in  order  to  earn  money  to 
enable  him  to  carry  on  his  collegiate  studies. 

Dr.  Harlow's  Business  College  was  located  at 
Chagrin  Falls,  about  40  miles  from  Cleveland.  He 
was  accustomed  to  call  upon  every  new  pupil  to  take 
the  rostrum,  and  deliver  an  impromptu  address  on 
temperance  ;  possibly  to  see  what  stuff  they  were  com 
posed  of,  of  course  not  expecting  much  of  an  address. 
Dr.  Harlow  writes  : 

"  As  was  my  custom  with  all  new  beginners,  I  called 
James,  the  same  day  of  his  arrival,  to  take  the  rostrum 
and  address  the  school  on  temperance  ;  and  to  my  sur 
prise  and  wonder,  he  gave  us  so  able  and  eloquent  dis 
course  upon  the  theme,  that  I  made  up  my  mind  that 
he  was  simply  declaiming  some  address  he  had  com- 


ANECDOTES  AND   INCIDENTS.  351 

mitted  to  memory.  Thinks  I,  my  good  fellow,  I  will 
fix  you  next  time.  When  his  turn  came  to  speak 
again,  I  gave  him  a  subject  out  of  the  common  range 
of  ordinary  thought,  supposing  we  would  have  a  break 
down  ;  but  to  my  great  gratification  and  astonishment 
he  went  on  making  an  excellent  address.  He  was 
acknowledged  to  be  the  best  speaker  in  the  school." 

The  class  at  Dr.  Harlow's  frequently  resolved  itself 
into  a  House  of  Representatives  in  Congress,  and  oc 
casionally  into  a  court  of  justice.  As  a  member  of 
Congress,  Mr.  Garfield  represented  the  State  of  New 
York.  The  citizens  came  in  to  hear  the  young  orators, 
and  many  of  them  remember  the  speeches  made  by  Mr. 
Garfield. 

While  at  the  school,  he  made  great  proficiency  in 
penmanship  and  painting.  He  taught  penmanship  the 
next  term  at  Hiram,  earning  enough  to  pay  his  ex 
penses.  While  in  Williams,  he  taught  in  the  surround 
ing  towns  —  in  Pownal,  in  a  school-house,  where 
Chester  A.  Arthur  once  taught. 

His  success  in  penmanship  is  remarkable,  when  we 
consider  that  General  Garfield,  naturally,  is  left- 
handed.  It  required  a  tremendous  effort  of  will,  and 
long  and  patient  practice,  to  use  his  right  hand.  He 
determined  to  do  it.  He  had,  at  first,  to  take  the  pen 
in  his  left  hand,  and  after  dipping  it  in  the  ink,  trans 
fer  it  to  the  right  hand.  His  first  attempts  at  writing 
were  exceedingly  discouraging.  The  muscles  would 
not  obey  his  will,  but  he  kept  on  till  he  mastered  them, 
and  became  an  accomplished  teacher  of  penmanship. 

In  addressing   an    assembly,  General   Garfield   fre- 


352  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

quently  makes  an  impressive  gesture  with  his  left 
arm. 

General  Garfield  went  to  Williams  in  June,  1854, 
a  few  weeks  before  the  close  of  the  term  at  that 
college,  and  attended  the  closing  recitations  of  the 
Sophomore  class,  to  become  familiar  with  the  methods 
of  the  professors,  before  his  examination  for  entering 
upon  the  junior  year.  After  his  examination,  there 
was  a  long  summer  vacation,  which  he  spent  mainly 
in  the  college  library.  It  was  the  most  extensive  col 
lection  of  books  he  had  ever  beheld.  He  never  had  seen 
a  copy  of  Shakspeare.  He  began  with  it  and  read  it 
through,  from  beginning  to  end.  He  next  took  up 
English  history  and  poetry,  beginning  with  Spen 
ser  and  coming  down  to  Tennyson,  whom  he  greatly 
admired.  He  had  a  retentive  memory,  and  learned 
whole  poems  by  heart.  A  quarter  of  a  century  has 
passed  since  then,  and  he  has  not  forgotten  them. 

General  Garfield  had  positive  opinions  in  regard  to 
the  rights  of  fugitive  slaves,  and  had  occasion  to  make 
them  known  during  his  military  service  in  Kentucky, 
as  asserted  by  one  of  his  staff. 

u  One  day,"  said  the  officer,  u  I  noticed  a  fugitive 
slave  come  rushing  into  camp  with  a  bloody  head,  and 
apparently  frightened  almost  to  death.  A  regular  bully 
of  a  fellow  came  riding  up  and  with  a  volley  of  oaths 
began  to  ask  after  his  '  nigger.'  General  Garfield  was 
not  present,  and  he  passed  on  to  the  division  command 
er.  This  division  commander  was  a  sympathizer  with 
the  theory  that  fugitives  should  be  returned  to  their 
masters,  and  that  the  Union  soldiers  should  be  made 


ANECDOTES  AND  INCIDENTS.  353 

the  instruments  for  returning  them.  He  accordingly 
wrote  a  mandatory  order  to  General  Garfield  to  hunt  out 
and  deliver  over  the  property  of  the  outraged  citizen. 
I  stated  the  case  as  fully  as  I  could  to  General  Garfield 
before  handing  him  the  order.  He  took  the  order  and 
deliberately  wrote  on  it  the  following  indorsement : 

"  *  I  respectfully  but  positively  decline  to  allow  my 
command  to  search  for  or  deliver  up  any  fugitive 
slaves.  I  conceive  that  they  are  here  for  quite  another 
purpose.  The  command  is  open,  and  no  obstacles  will 
be  placed  in  the  way  of  search.' 

"  I  read  the  indorsement  and  was  frightened.  I  ex 
pected  that,  if  returned,  the  result  would  be  that  the 
general  would  be  court-martialed.  I  told  him  my  fears. 
He  simply  replied,  '  The  matter  may  as  well  be  tested 
first  as  last.  Right  is  right,  and  I  do  not  propose  to 
mince  matters  at  all.  My  soldiers  are  here  for  other 
purposes  than  hunting  and  returning  fugitive  slaves. 
My  people,  on  the  Western  Reserve  of  Ohio,  did  not 
send  my  boys  and  myself  down  here  to  do  that  kind  of 
business,  and  they  will  back  me  up  in  my  action.'  He 
would  not  alter  the  indorsement,  and  the  order  was  re 
turned.  Nothing  ever  came  of  the  matter  further. 

"  One  day  at  Murfreesboro',  an  old  colored  lady  came 
to  the  general's  tent  and  complained  of  having  been 
cruelly  beaten  by  her  master,  a  man  named  Carney, 
simply  because  her  two  sons  had  been  hired  as  servants 
by  two  Union  captains  ;  the  heartless  rebel  abusing  the 
old  lady  on  the  ground  that  she  had  urged  her  sons 
to  do  so. 

"  Carney  was  summoned,  and  in  his  presence  the 
23 


354  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

woman  told  her  entire  story,  in  the  course  of  which  she 
said  that  Colonel  Burke  (since  general)  had  been  near 
by  when  the  whipping  had  been  done.  So  indignant 
was  the  general  at  both  Carney  and  Burke  that  he 
came  near  depriving  the  latter  of  his  straps,  and  to  the 
former  said  among  other  things  expressive  of  his 
wrath  :  '  You  rascal,  you  ought  to  have  your  ears  cut 
off  for  this  cussedness.'  " 

In  a  former  chapter  General  Garfield's  position  in 
regard  to  the  bill  for  extra  pay  for  congressional  ser 
vices  has  been  given  ;  but  the  following  incident  nar 
rated  by  President  Hinsdale  of  Hiram  College,  shows 
what  sacrifice  General  Garfield  made  in  connection 
with  that  bill : 

"  There  is  an  incident  connected  with  that  bill,"  said 
President  Hinsdale,  "which  I  will  relate,  not  because  I 
was  concerned  in  it,  but  because  it  shows  something  of 
the  working  of  the  general's  mind.  I  got  to  Wash 
ington  on  Saturday,  and  on  Sunday  there  was  a  long 
session  of  the  committee  on  appropriations  devoted  to 
the  discussion  of  the  increase  of  salaries.  This  feature 
was  a  rider  on  one  of  the  most  important  appropriation 
bills.  Garfield  opposed  the  rider,  but  was  overruled  by 
the  committee.  On  Monday  I  happened  to  pass  the 
room  of  the  committee  on  appropriations  and  I  found 
General  Garfield  walking  up  and  down  the  corridor. 
He  said  to  me,  '  I've  got  to  decide  in  fifteen  minutes 
whether  I  will  sign  that  bill  or  not.  If  I  do,  I  go  on 
the  record  as  indorsing  a  measure  that  I  have  been 
opposing.  If  I  do  not,  I  lose  all  control  of  the  bill.  It 
will  be  reported  to  the  house  by  General  Butler,  and  he 


ANECDOTES  AND  INCIDENTS.  355 

will  control  the  debate  on  it.  The  session  of  Congress 
ends  to-morrow,  and  if  the  bill  fails  to  pass,  this  Con 
gress  will  expire  without  making  provisions  for  carrying- 
on  the  government.  Now  what  would  you  do  ? '  I  told 
him  that  I  would  sign  the  bill,  and  in  the  house  I 
would  briefly  explain  why  I  had  at  last  signed  a  bill 
which  I  had  opposed.  I  don't  assume  that  his  conduct 
was  guided  by  my  advice,  but  he  pursued  the  course  I 
had  indicated." 

Such  a  statement  should  forever  put  a  stop  to  all 
charges  of  mercenary  action  on  the  part  of  General 
Garfield. 


356  JAAfES  A.   GAR  FIELD. 


XXX. 

THE   CONVENTION   AT   CHICAGO. 

NATIONAL  Conventions  of  political  parties  are 
the  outgrowth  of  American  institutions.  In  no 
other  country  can  there  be  assembled  a  body  like  that 
which  gathered  at  Chicago,  June  3,  1880,  to  nominate 
candidates  for  the  Presidency  and  Vice-Presidency  of 
the  United  States.  In  England,  not  even  for  the  nomi 
nation  of  members  of  Parliament  are  there  any  conven 
tions  like  those  peculiar  to  our  own  country.  France 
is  a  Republic, — young,  fresh,  vigorous;  but  political 
parties  in  France  are  divided  into  monarchical  and 
anti-monarchical,  and  thus  far  the  Republicans  of 
France  have  had  no  need  for  a  national  convention. 
In  no  country  is  a  national  convention  of  a  political 
party  possible  at  the  present  time,  except  in  the  United 
States.  Our  own  Republic  went  on  half  a  century,  after 
the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  before  political  parties 
saw  that  under  a  government  of  the  people,  the  people 
themselves  should  nominate,  as  well  as  elect  their  high 
est  executive  officers. 

Prior  to  1831,  the  Congressional  caucus  nominated 
candidates  for  President  and  Vice-President.  The  first 
Congressional  caucus  on  record  wa?  held  Jan.  19,  1808, 


THE    CONVENTION  AT  CHICAGO.  357 

by  the  Democratic,  then  the  Republican  members,  to 
decide  whether  Madison  or  Monroe  should  succeed 
Jefferson.  Mr.  Madison  was  Secretary  of  State ;  Mr. 
Monroe,  Minister  to  Great  Britain.  Madison  being  on 
the  ground  to  wield  his  own  personal  influence,  suc 
ceeded  in  obtaining  a  majority  of  the  caucus  in  his 
favor. 

It  was  soon  discovered  that  "  King  Caucus,"  as  the 
system  was  called,  was  despotic,  tyrannical,  and  cor 
rupting.  Every  act  of  a  democratic  member  of  Con 
gress  had  reference  to  some  political  end.  The  caucus 
system  was  overthrown  in  1825  by  the  quadrangular 
contest  which  threw  the  election  into  the  House  of 
Representatives,  defeating  the  caucus  candidates  and 
electing  John  Quincy  Adams. 

The  first  political  convention  of  any  prominence  in 
the  United  States  was  held  at  Baltimore,  September, 
1831,  by  those  opposed  to  the  Masonic  Order.  The 
party  had  its  origin  in  Western  New  York  in  1826, 
through  the  publishing  of  a  pamphlet  by  William  Mor 
gan,  which  purported  to  be  an  expose  of  the  ritual  of 
the  order.  William  Wirt,  of  Maryland,  was  nominated 
for  President. 

In  the  following  December,  the  National  Republicans, 
in  a  convention  at  Baltimore,  nominated  Henry  Clay  ; 
but  both  of  these  conventions  were  small  assemblies  — 
in  no  sense  National.  The  democratic  members  of  the 
New  York  Legislature  nominated  Andrew  Jackson  ; 
but  it  was  the  action  of  the  democratic  members  of  the 
Legislature  of  New  Hampshire  that  brought  about  the 
first  convention  that  could  be  called  National.  The 


358  JAM&S   A.   GARF1ELD. 

democratic  members  of  that  body  took  it  upon  them 
selves  to  issue  a  call  for  an  assembly  of  delegates  from 
all  the  States,  —  one  delegate  for  each  vote  in  the  elec 
toral  college.  The  party  in  the  different  States  re 
sponded,  and  the  convention  met  at  Baltimore,  May  21, 
1832.  The  whole  number  of  electoral  votes  at  that 
time  was  288,  and  283  delegates  responded.  At  that 
convention  a  resolution  was  adopted  requiring  two- 
thirds  of  the  votes  in  the  convention  to  secure  a  nomi 
nation.  The  convention  adopted  a  platform  setting 
forth  the  principles^  of  the  party. 

The  first  National   Convention   of  the  Whig  party 
was  held  at  Harrisburg,  Dec.  4,  1839,  twenty-two  States 
being  represented.     General  Harrison  was  nominated. 
Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  National  Convention, 
which  is  as  truly  American  as  the  Republic  itself. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  the  young  man  who  in  this 
year  of  1880  is  to  cast  his  first  ballot,  may  not  have 
stopped  to  think  of  the  significance  of  a  national  po 
litical  convention.  There  are  some  foreigners  who 
doubtless  flatter  themselves  that  they  understand 
American  politics  and  American  institutions,  who  dp 
not  comprehend  a  National  Convention  ;  they  speak 
of  such  an  assembly  as  an  unauthorized  gathering. 
Government  has  not  called  it,  and  an  assembly  not 
called  into  being  by  government  is  of  no  account. 
They  do  not  comprehend,  in  the  American  sense,  the 
meaning  of  a  government  of  the  people  ;  that  all  au 
thority  comes  from  the  people  ;  and  that  the  people 
themselves  authorize  the  convention. 

A  national  convention  of  a  great  political  party  has 


THE    CONVENTION  AT  CHICAGO. 


359 


a  grandeur  all  its  own  ;  it  is  for  the  selection  of  a  citizen 
fitted  by  the  endowments  which  God  has  given  him, 
and  by  the  exercise  of  his  faculties,  by  character  and 
experience,  to  be  ruler  of  fifty  millions  of  people ;  the 
compeer  of  kings  and  emperors  ;  to  wield  the  power  of 
a  great  nation  ;  to  guide  the  Republic  for  a  period  of 
years  towards  its  mighty  destiny  ! 

This  is  the  meaning  of  that  gathering  of  the  dele 
gates  chosen  by  the  people,  which  assembled  in  Chi 
cago. 

The  convention  met  June  3d,  and  chose  George  F. 
Hoar,  Senator  in  Congress  from  Massachusetts,  Presi 
dent.  There  were  three  prominent  candidates  for  the 
Presidency.  General  Grant,  who  had  filled  the  office 
eight  years,  from  1868  to  1876;  James  G.  Elaine, 
Senator  from  Maine  ;  and  John  Sherman,  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury. 

The  friends  of  each  candidate  labored  earnestly  to 
secure  a  majority  of  the  delegates,  but  neither  suc 
ceeded.  Among  the  delegates  from  Ohio  was  General 
Garfield,  who  was  elected  chairman  of  the  Ohio  dele 
gation,  and  who  did  all  in  his  •  power  to  secure  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Sherman. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  convention,  Mr.  Conkling 
of  New  York,  introduced  a  resolution  which  pledged 
every  member  of  the  convention  to  support  the  nomi 
nee,  and  declaring  that  no  one  should  hold  a  seat  who 
was  not  ready  so  to  pledge  himself. 

The  question  was  put  and  several  voices  responded 
in  the  negative.  Mr.  Conkling  called  for  a  vote  by 
states.  Three  delegates  from  West  Virginia  voted  in 


360  JAMES  A,   GARFIELD. 

the  negative.  Mr.  Conkling  therefore  offered  a  second 
resolution  that  the  delegates  who  had  so  voted  had  for 
feited  their  seats  in  the  convention. 

The  delegates  from  West  Virginia  stated  that  they 
were  true  Republicans,  but,  that  as  a  matter  of  principle, 
they  would  not  pledge  themselves  in  advance  to  every 
thing  the  convention  might  do.  Several  gentlemen 
spoke  upon  the  resolution. 

Mr.  Young,  of  Tennessee,  asked  to  know  why  the 
gentlemen  who  had  voted  in  the  negative  did  not  join 
the  Democratic  party.  It  was  a  question  of  mere  per 
sonal  independence. 

The  question  was  about  to  be  put  when  General 
Garfield  took  the  floor. 

"  I  fear,"  he  said,  "  that  the  convention  is  about  to 
commit  a  grave  error.  He  would  state  the  case.  Every 
delegate  save  three  had  voted  for  the  resolution,  and 
the  three  gentlemen  who  had  voted  against  it  had  risen 
in  their  places  and  stated  that  they  expected  and  in 
tended  to  support  the  nominee  of  the  convention,  but 
that  it  was  not  in  their  judgment  a  wise  thing  at  this  time 
to  pass  the  resolution  which  all  the  rest  of  the  dele 
gates  had  voted  for.  Were  they  to  be  disfranchised 
because  they  thought  so?  That  was  the  question. 
Was  every  delegate  to  have  his  republicanism  inquired 
into  before  he  was  allowed  to  vote  ?  Delegates  were 
responsible  for  their  votes,  not  to  the  convention,  but 
to  their  constituents.  He  himself  would  never  in  any 
convention  vote  against  his  judgment.  He  regretted 
that  the  gentlemen  from  West  Virginia  had  thought  it 
best  to  break  the  harmony  of  the  convention  by  their 


THE   CONVENTION  AT  CHICAGO. '          361 

dissent.  He  did  not  know  these  gentlemen,  nor  their 
affiliations,  nor  their  relations  to  the  candidates.  If 
this  convention  expelled  those  men  then  the  conven 
tion  would  have  to  purge  itself  at  the  end  of  every 
vote  and  inquire  how  many  delegates  who  had  voted 
'  no  '  should  go  out.  He  trusted  that  the  gentleman 
from  New  York  would  withdraw  his  resolution  and  let 
the  convention  proceed  with  its  business." 

Mr.  Pixley,  of  California,  moved  to  lay  the  resolution 
on  the  table. 

Mr.  Conkling  thereupon  withdrew  the  resolution. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  June,  the  convention 
having  accomplished  the  preliminary  business,  the 
names  of  the  several  candidates  were  presented. 

General  Garfield  presented  the  name  of  John  Sher 
man  in  an  able  speech,  which  elicited  great  applause. 
The  names  of  General  Grant,  Senator  Elaine,  Senator 
Windom  of  Minnesota,  Senator  Edmunds  of  Vermont, 
and  E.  B.  Washburn  also  were  presented. 

Thirty-five  ballots  were  taken,  during  which  two 
votes  had  been  cast  for  General  Garfield.  After  the 
thirty-fourth  ballot,  it  was  evident  to  the  friends  of 
Senator  Elaine  that  he  could  not  be  nominated.  Be 
ginning  with  284  he  had  dropped  to  257.  On  this 
ballot  the  delegation  from  Wisconsin  voted  for  General 
Garfield,  which,  with  one  delegate  from  Pennsylvania, 
gave  seventeen  ballots. 

General  Garfield  arose  to  a  point  of  order,  that  he 
had  given  no  one  liberty  to  use  his  name,  and  without 
such  liberty  no  one  had  a  right  to  vote  for  him.  Gen 
eral  Garfield  was  about  to  say  more,  but  was  prevented 


362  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

by  Mr.  Hoar,  who  said  that  he  had  not  stated  a  ques 
tion  of  order. 

On  the  thirty-fifth  ballot  fifty  were  cast  for  General 
Garfield. 

The  number  of  delegates  composing  the  convention 
was  seven  hundred  and  fifty-five.  On  the  thirty-sixth 
ballot,  General  Garfield  received  three  hundred  and 
ninety-nine. 

An  indescribable  scene  ensued.  The  standards  of 
every  State,  with  the  exception  of  Florida,  were  carried 
over  to  Ohio,  amid  the  cheers  of  the  vast  audience. 
For  fifteen  minutes  the  audience  gave  expression  to  its 
enthusiasm,  the  band  playing  "  Rally  Round  the 
Flag,"  and  the  audience  joining  in  the  song. 

During  this  period  of  intense  excitement,  General 
Garfield  sat  pale  and  thoughtful,  and  in  a  maze.  A 
lightning  stroke  had  fallen  upon  him.  Throughout  the 
convention  he  has  done  what  he  could  for  Mr.  Sher 
man.  He  had  had  no  thought  of  receiving  the  nomi 
nation.  No  one  had  worked  for  him.  Only  two 
delegates  had  voted  for  him  up  to  the  thirty-fourth 
ballot.  It  was  a  case  of  spontaneous  combustion  ! 
Very  few  of  the  delegates  knew  General  Garfield  per 
sonally.  No  one  had  set  forth  his  qualifications,  only 
as  he  himself  had  set  them  forth  by  creditable  and 
faithful  service  during  the  first  years  of  the  war,  and  by 
his  eighteen  years'  service  in  Congress.  The  few 
words  spoken  by  him  in  regard  to  the  West  Virginia 
delegates  —  his  persuasive,  calm,  conciliatory  course, 
his  fairness,  his  courage  to  do  what  others  felt  ought 
to  be  done  —  had  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the 


THE   CONVENTION  AT  CHICAGO.  363 

convention.  His  address,  presenting  Mr.  Sherman  as  a 
candidate,  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  most  eloquent 
of  all  the  speeches. 

The  nomination  came  of  itself,  without  concert  or 
arrangement.  General  Garfield  was  greatly  disturbed. 

"  I  wish  you,"  he  said,  to  the  correspondent  of  the 
Cleveland  Herald,  "  to  say  that  this  is  no  act  of  mine. 
I  wish  you  would  say  that  I  have  done  everything  and 
omitted  nothing  to  secure  Secretary  Sherman's  nomi 
nation.  I  want  it  plainly  understood  that  I  have  not 
sought  this  nomination,  and  have  protested  against  the 
use  of  my  name.  If  Senator  Hoar  had  permitted,  I 
would  have  forbidden  any  body  to  vote  for  me.  But  he 
took  me  off  my  feet  before  I  had  said  what  I  intended.  I 
am  very  sorry  it  has  occurred,  but  if  my  position  is 
fully  explained,  a  nomination,  coming  unsought  and 
unexpected  like  this,  will  be  the  crowning  gratification 
of  my  life." 

There  have  been  in  other  conventions  the  taking  up 
of  compromise  candidates,  but  in  no  other  national 
convention  has  there  been  such  a  turn  of  affairs  —  the 
nomination  of  a  man  for  the  presidency,  who  was  not  a 
candidate,  but  who  was  working  with  all  his  might  to 
secure  the  nomination  of  another. 

General  Garfield  had  not  been  in  training  for  the 
presidency.  From  his  entrance  upon  public  life,  —  as 
a  Senator  in  the  Ohio  Legislature,  as  commander  of  a 
brigade,  as  chief  of  Rosecrans's  staff,  as  a  representa 
tive  in  Congress,  he  had  aimed  to  carry  out  his  convic 
tions  of  what  was  just  and  right.  A  portion  of  the 


364  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

delegates,  when  the  convention  was  at  a  deadlock, 
knowing  his  worth,  recognizing  his  services,  conscious 
of  his  fitness  for  the  high  position,  took  him  up  against 
his  protestations,  gave  him  a  majority  of  the  votes  ; 
the  convention  made  the  nomination  unanimous,  and 
the  Republican  party  throughout  the  Union,  with  a 
unanimity  and  enthusiasm  almost  unparalleled,  accepts 
him  as  their  great  leader  in  the  approaching  campaign. 


CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  365 


XXXI. 

CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

IN  a  rugged  pasture  on  a  hill-side  in  the  town  ot 
Fairfield,  Vt,  a  few  stones,  and  a  slight  depression 
in  the  surface  of  the  ground,  mark  the  spot  where  once 
stood  a  log  cabin.  It  was  the  humble  home  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Arthur,  who  fifty  years  ago  was  preaching  to  the 
people  of  Fairfield.  He  was  a  young  man  enthusiastic 
and  devoted  in  his  calling.  He  began  his  preaching 
in  the  district  school-house,  but  his  audiences  increas 
ing,  a  neighboring  barn  became  the  place  of  worship, 
—  the  women  occupying  seats  of  planks  and  blocks 
of  wood  on  the  bare  floor,  the  men  on  the  hay-mow 
and  scaffolds,  and  the  boys  on  the  high  beams.  Rev. 
Mr.  Arthur's  labors  were  so  successful  that  the  com 
munity  was  stimulated  to  build  a  meeting-house. 

The  town  of  Fairfield,  fifty  years  ago,  was  compara 
tively  new,  and  many  of  the  residences  were  like  that 
of  the  young  minister,  built  of  logs.  It  was  a  thrifty, 
hard-working,  steady-going  community,  full  of  life  and 
hope,  and  became  religious  under  Rev.  Mr.  Arthur's 
ministration. 

Upon  his  settlement  in  the  place,  Mr.  Arthur  had  a 
wife  and  three  daughters,  but  the  log  cabin  was  bright- 


366 


CHESTEl    A.  ARTHUR. 


ened  just  half  a  century  ago  by  the  advent  of  a  fourth 
child,  —  a  boy  who  received  the  name  of  the  attending 
physician,  Chester  Abel. 

Rev  Mr.  Arthur  subsequently  moved  to  the  vicinity 
of  Troy,  N.  Y.,  preaching  in  various  localities. 

The  political  campaign  of  1840,  between  General 
Harrison  and  Martin  Van  Buren,  was  the  most  excit 
ing  of  any  in  the  history  of  the  Republic.  Chester  A. 
Arthur,  a  boy  of  ten,  whose  sympathies  were  with 
the  Whig  candidate,  had  his  boyish  enthusiasm 
aroused  by  the  log  cabin  raisings,  the  barbecues,  the 
beating  of  drums,  the  playing  of  brass  bands,  the  sing 
ing  of  Harrison  songs,  the  firing  of  cannon.  Four 
years  later  —  during  the  contest  between  Henry  Clay 
and  James  K.  Polk,  —  the  raising  of  ash  poles  in  honor 
of  Henry  Clay,  whose  Kentucky  mansion  bore  the 
name  of  Ashland,  succeeded  the  log  cabin  raisings  of 
the  Harrison  campaign. 

Chester  A.  Arthur,  a  youth  of  fourteen,  joined  a  com 
pany  of  young  Whigs  in  the  Clay  campaign.  Party 
spirit  ran  high.  At  a  pole  raising  in  the  village  of 
Fonda,  the  Democrats  brought  on  a  fight.  There  were 
many  bleeding  noses,  blackened  eyes,  and  broken 
heads  on  both  sides.  One  of  the  foremost  in  the  fray 
was  Chester  A.  Arthur. 

"  I  have  been  in  many  a  political  battle  since  then," 
said  Mr.'  Arthur,  recently,  "  but  none  livelier,  or  that 
more  thoroughly  enlisted  me." 

Being  near  Union  College,  Schenectady,  Mr.  Arthur 
entered  that  institution  in  1844,  then  under  the  presi 
dency  of  Rev.  Eliphalet  Nott,  D.  D.,  regarded  as  one 


CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  367 

of  the  ablest  men  in  his  profession  at  that  time.  Dur 
ing  his  college  course  he  taught  school  in  common  with 
most  students,  during  the  winter  terms.  One  of  the 
schools  thus  taught  was  in  Pownal,  Vt,  the  building  in 
which  James  A.  Garfield  subsequently  taught  penman 
ship. 

Mr.  Arthur  graduated  in  1848,  taking  the  degree  of 
A.  M.  He  stood  high  in  his  class,  and  was  regarded 
as  a  student  of  much  promise.  He  became  a  member 
of  the  Psi  Upsilon  Fraternity.  He  chose  the  law  for 
a  profession,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1850,  when 
he  was  twenty  years  of  age. 

The  year  1850  was  one  of  excitement  in  the  politi 
cal  world.  The  questions  before  Congress,  were  the 
repeal  of  the  Missouri  compromise  of  1820,  the  passage 
of  the  fugitive  slave  law,  the  organization  of  New 
Mexico  and  California. 

To  the  people  of  the  North  the  fugitive  slave  law 
was  an  odious  act ;  a  slave  escaping  from  one  State 
into  another,  must  be  delivered  up  to  his  master.  It 
directed  and  provided  for  the  surrender  to  the  claimant 
of  each  alleged  fugitive  without  a  trial  by  jury,  but  by 
a  commissioner.  The  testimony  of  the  fugitive  could 
not  be  admitted  in  his  defence,  the  testimony  of  the 
claimant  was  sufficient,  and  the  commissioner  could 
call  out  the  whole  posse  comitatus  of  the  United  States 
to  put  his  decree  in  execution,  and  all  citizens  were 
commanded  to  aid  him. 

The  moral  sense  of  Chester  A.  Arthur,  in  common 
with  the  moral  sense  of  thousands  of  northern  citizens, 
revolted.  His  soul  was  stirred  within  him.  He  had 


368  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

formed  a  partnership  with  Erastus  D.  Culver,  of  New 
York,  and  the  firm  was  known  to  the  Abolitionists  as 
one  in  sympathy  with  the  rising  tide  of  free  principles. 
In  November,  1852,  a  vessel  sailed  into  New  York 
Harbor  from  Norfolk,  Va.,  with  Jonathan  and  Juliet 
Lemon  on  board  as  passengers.  They  had  decided  to 
emigrate  to  Texas,  and  there  being  no  trade  between 
Norfolk  and  New  Orleans  —  no  vessels  sailing,  they 
embarked  for  New  York,  where  they  expected  to  take 
a  steamer.  Among  other  chattels  they  had  eight 
slaves.  The  vessel  dropped  anchor  in  New  York  har 
bor  ;  the  steamer  would  not  sail  for  several  days. 
During  the  interim  an  officer  appeared  on  board  the 
vessel  with  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  requiring  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lemon  to  appear  before  Judge  Payne  of  the  Su 
perior  Court,  and  show  cause  for  detaining  the  eight 
human  chattels,  when  by  the  laws  of  New  York, 
slavery  was  forbidden. 

The  young  lawyer,  Chester  A.  Arthur,  entered  into 
the  case  with  great  zeal.  Mr.  Lemon  employed  Mr. 
O'Conner,  a  life  long  Democrat.  Mr.  Arthur  gave  all 
his  energies  to  the  preparation  of  the  case.  Mr.  Lemon, 
through  counsel,  claimed  that  he  was  compelled  to  touch 
at  New  York,  but  had  no  intention  of  stopping  there. 
Messrs.  Culver  and  Arthur  based  their  argument  on  the 
rights  of  man,  on  the  State  laws  and  the  law  of  nations. 
It  was  not  a  case  under  the  fugitive  slave  act  ;  the 
negroes  were  not  fleeing  ;  their  master  had  voluntarily 
brought  them  into  a  State,  which  prohibited  slavery, 
and  they  were  entitled  to  their  freedom.  Judge  Payne 
took  the  same  view  and  ordered  them  to  be  set  free. 


CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  369 

There  came  a  howl  from  every  State  south  of  Mason 
and  Dixon's  line,  in  regard  to  the  "  unparalleled  out 
rage,"  with  threats  of  dissolving  the  Union.  The  Demo 
cratic  press  of  the  North  got  down  on  its  knees ;  the  New 
York  Journal  of  Commerce  demanded  that  New  York 
should  repeal  its  obnoxious  law,  against  slavery,  other 
wise  the  City  of  New  York  would  lose  its  Southern 
trade.  A  portion  of  the  Whig  press  was  subservient 
The  State  of  Virginia  directed  its  Attorney-General  to 
take  up  the  case  and  appeal  from  Judge  Payne's  decision. 
The  Legislature  of  New  York,  instead  of  repealing  the 
law  against  slavery,  requested  the  Governor  to  employ 
counsel.  E.  D.  Culver  and  Joseph  Blunt  were  ap 
pointed.  Afterward  they  withdrew  and  Mr.  Arthur 
was  appointed.  He  associated  with  himself  William 
M.  Evarts  and  argued  the  case  before  the  Supreme 
Court.  That  Court  sustained  Judge  Payne's  decision. 
The  case  was  then  appealed  to  the  Court  of  Appeals. 
There  also  the  judgment  of  Judge  Payne  was  affirmed, 
and  thenceforth  no  slaveholder  dared  venture  into  New 
York  State  with  his  slaves. 

The  prejudice  against  color,  which  in  1830,  had  been 
so  intense,  had  been  yielding  to  the  spirit  of  the  age, 
but  was  so  deep  seated  that  up  to  1856,  no  colored 
person  could  ride  in  a  public  conveyance  in  the  streets 
of  New  York. 

One  day  a  colored  young  lady,  Lizzie  Jennings,  ap 
peared  in  Mr.  Arthur's  office,  and  stated  her  case. 
She  was  a  superintendent  of  a  colored  Sunday-school, 
had  entered  a  Fourth  Avenue  horse  car,  and  paid  her 
fare,  but  a  fellow  objected  to  her  presence,  and  the 


370 


CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 


conductor  had  rudely  expelled  her,  tearing  her  clothing 
and  otherwise  maltreating  her.  She  had  come  to  Mr. 
Arthur  for  advice.  What  should  she  do  ?  "  I  will  take 
care  of  your  case,"  said  Mr.  Arthur. 

He  brought  suit  against  the  company,  a  rich  corpo 
ration,  with  the  aristocratic  portion  of  the  community 
lending  its  influence  against  "Lizzie  Jennings  and  the 
colored  race.  Mr.  Arthur  managed  to  have  the  case 
tried  before  Judge  Rockwell,  of  the  Brooklyn  court ; 
and  so  successfully  was  it  managed,  so  masterly  his 
plea,  that  Lizzie  Jennings  recovered  $500.  It  was 
like  the  taking  of  the  Malakoff  in  the  Crimean  war,  — 
a  point  gained  for  the  colored  race.  Since  then,  their 
rights  in  all  public  conveyances  have  been  respected. 

The  year  1856  was  signalized  by  the  formation  of 
the  Republican  party.  Mr.  Arthur  entered  zealously 
into  the  movement,  was  a  stanch  supporter  of  Fremont, 
and  of  Mr.  Lincoln  in  1860.  Upon  the  breaking  out 
of  the  war,  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Morgan 
chief  engineer  on  his  staff.  In  this  office  he  did  very 
valuable  service  in  the  equipment  of  the  volunteers  of 
the  State  for  the  war.  Upon  Jan.  27,  1862,  in  honor 
of  these  services  he  was  appointed  quartermaster- 
general  on  Governor  Morgan's  staff.  Here  he  again 
worked  with  great  energy  to  forward  troops  to  the  seat 
of  war. 

In  1 86 1,  when  the  fires  of  patriotism  were  burning 
•  brightly,  it  occurred  to  some  one  that  New  York  might 
rid  herself  of  a  crowd  of  bullies,  thieves,  and  rascals, 
by  sending  them  to  the  army  en  masse.  Billy  Wilson, 
a  notorious  rough,  took  up  the  idea,  and  received  au- 


CHESTER  A.   ARTHUR.  371 

thority  to  raise  the  regiment.  He  was  to  be  colonel. 
The  bullies  enlisted  in  great  numbers  ;  they  were  quar 
tered  in  the  park.  Public-spirited  citizens  made  mu 
nificent  contributions  for  their  outfit  and  support.  The 
bullies  made  the  most  of  their  opportunity,  and  not 
only  demanded,  but  quietly  helped  themselves  to  what 
ever  they  wished  in  the  neighboring  stores,  telling  the 
proprietors  to  charge  it  to  the  State.  Complaints 
reached  the  governor,  who  gave  Arthur  full  authority 
to  act  in  the  premises. 

The  quartermaster-general  sent  an  order  to  Wilson 
to  report  at  his  office.  The  bully  complied,  entering  in 
full  uniform  with  a  swaggering  air.  Mr.  Arthur  in 
formed  him  that  such  practices  as  had  been  complained 
of  must  be  stopped.  Wilson  listened  with  a  super 
cilious  air.  "  I'm  a  colonel  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  sir,"  he  said ;  "  and  neither  you  nor  Governor 
Morgan  have  any  authority  over  me.  So  long  as  I 
wear  these  shoulder-straps,  I  shall  take  no  orders  from 
any  of  you  fellows." 

General  Arthur  has  been  endowed  by  nature  with 
a  grand  physique,  and  he  does  not  know  fear.  He  rose 
from  his  chair,  grasped  the  straps,  and  in  a  twinkling 
they  were  torn  from  the  bully's  shoulders. 

"  I'll  make  short  work  of  them,"  he  said.  He  threw 
the  fellow  into  a  chair,  and  ordered  his  arrest. 

"  You  are  not  yet  mustered  into  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  sir,  and  for  the  present  you  are  under 
the  authority  of  the  State  of  New  York,"  he  said.  The 
bully  was  conquered. 

The  disbursements  of  the  quartermaster's  depart- 


372  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

ment  in  New  York  during  Governor  Morgan's  admin 
istration  amounted  to  many  millions,  but  General 
Arthur's  accounts  were  kept  in  the  most  methodical 
manner,  and,  in  his  settlement  with  the  United  States, 
his  was  the  first  of  all  to  be  settled.  It  is  a  remark 
able  fact,  and  one  which  reflects  the  highest  honor  on 
General  Arthur,  that  while  the  accounts  of  some  of 
the  States  were  reduced  by  millions,  his  was  not  cut 
down  a  single  dollar  ! 

On  the  2Oth  of  November,  1871,  he  was  appointed 
by  President  Grant  to  succeed  Thomas  Murphy  as 
Collector  of  the  Port  of  New  York.  When  his  term 
of  four  years  had  expired,  he  was  reappointed  ;  and  the 
Senate,  by  unanimous  vote,  confirmed  the  appointment 
without  reference  to  a  committee,  —  a  high  and  unusual 
compliment,  which  evidenced  a  keen  appreciation  of  his 
ability  and  faithfulness  in  office. 

President  Hayes,  upon  his  election  to  the  Presidency, 
inaugurated,  or  attempted  to  inaugurate,  civil  service 
reform.  He  wished  especially  to  bring  about  a  new 
order  of  things  in  the  New  York  custom-house.  Gen 
eral  Arthur  refused  to  carry  out  the  programme  made 
out  for  him,  and  was  removed.  Two  special  commit 
tees  were  appointed  to  look  into  his  administration  of 
affairs,  but  found  nothing  against  him  ;  and  President 
Hayes  and  Secretary  Sherman,  in  announcing  the 
change,  bore  public  and  official  testimony  to  his  per 
sonal  integrity. 

General  Arthur  is  in  the  full  vigor  of  manhood, 
urbane  and  gentlemanly  in  his  intercourse  with  men. 
Death  has  robbed  him  of  an  accomplished  wife,  the 


CHESTER  A.   ARTHUR.  373 

daughter  of  Captain  Herndon,  who  was  lost  in  one 
of  the  Pacific  mail  steamers,  that  foundered  at  sea  a 
few  years  ago.  He  has  two  children. 

Attaining  his  majority  at  a  time  when  slavery  was 
making  its  aggressions,  he  espoused  the  cause  of  lib 
erty,  gave  himself  heart  and  soul  to  the  maintenance 
of  the  rights  of  a  despised  race,  and  on  all  questions 
relating  to  human  progress,  is  as  unswerving  as  the 
star  of  the  north  from  its  place  in  the  heavens.  Not 
a  word  of  calumny  has  ever  been  breathed  against 
him.  He  is  honored  and  respected  by  all  who  know 
him,  irrespective  of  party. 


\ 
374  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTT. 


XXXII. 

THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY. 

THE  Whig  National  Convention  of  1852,  ruled  by 
the  slave  power,  rejected  Daniel  Webster  and 
nominated  Genefal  Winfield  Scott  for  the  Presidency, 
giving  precedence  to  the  soldier  who  knew  nothing 
of  civil  matters,  thus  ignoring  the  statesman  most  ca 
pable  of  guiding  the  affairs  of  state.  Heartsick  and 
sore,  Daniel  Webster  sat  beneath  the  elms  of  Marsh- 
field  during  the  waning  October  days,  the  sere  and 
yellow  leaves  falling  around  him,  and  the  shadow  of 
death  stealing  upon  him. 

"  After  November  next,"  he  said  to  a  friend,  "  the 
Whig  party  will  live  only  in  history." 

The  election  was  held.  General  Scott  suffered  an 
ignominious  defeat,  and  the  great  party  disappeared. 

The  time  had  come  for  it  to  die  ;  and  the  time  had 
come  also  for  the  advent  of  a  party,  which  should  be  in 
harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  age  ;  which  in  the  bloom 
and  vigor  of  its  youth  should  grapple  with  gigantic 
wrong,  stand  forth  before  the  wondering  nations  as  the 
champion  of  human  rights,  and  by  its  victories  give  a 
mighty  uplift  to  civilization.  Its  triumphs  have  not 
been  for  the  nation  alone,  but  for  all  mankind.  No 


THE   REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 


375 


other  party  in  this  or  any  other  land  has  ever  accom 
plished  so  much. 

The  Republican  party  came  upon  the  field,  bearing 
the  banner  of  the  ages.     The  barons  of  England  flung 
it  to  the  breeze  in  the  green  meadows  of  Runnymede 
-The  Rights  of  Man,  its  inscription.  Cromwell  bore  it 
in  triumph  amid  the  carnage  of  Marston  Moor.   Winkle- 
reid  waved  it  above  the   eternal   snow  of   the  Alps. 
The  Mayflower  bore  it  at  her  mast-head  across   the 
Atlantic.     Prescott,  Putnam,  and  Stark  planted  it  on 
Bunker  Hill,  and  the  men  of  the  Revolution  carried  it 
in  triumph  at  Bennington,  Saratoga,  and  Yorktown. 
The  Republican  party  bore  it  up  the  heights  of  Donel- 
son,  and  upon  a  hundred  fields  drenched  with  blood 
during  the  greatest  civil  war  of  all  time.     It  was  the 
Republican  party  that  stood  upon  the  rocky  ridge  of 
Gettysburg,   where   centuries   of    destiny   were   com 
pressed  into  minutes.     At  that  time  the  Democratic- 
party  was  proclaiming  to  the  world  that  the  war  was 
a  failure,  that  there  never  could  be  peace  without  sep 
aration.    During  those  moments  the  slave  power,  backed 
by   the   Democratic    party,    was/  organizing   riots    in 
New  York,  hanging  negroes,  resisting  the  draft.     In 
Indiana  the  Democratic  party  was  organizing  the  Or 
der  of  the   Golden    Circle,  with   its    pass-words   and 
signs,  to  overthrow  and  defeat  the  government.     The 
Republican   party   put   down    the    gigantic  rebellion, 
north  and  south,  announcing  to  the  monarchies  of  the 
Old    World,    sympathizing   with    the    Rebellion,   that 
thenceforth  the  American  people  were  a  Nation  and 
not  a  Confederacy.     They  gave  their  bravest  and  best 


376  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

-  pouring  out  the  precious  wine  of  life  till  all  resist 
ance  was  crushed  out  on  the  field  of  Appomattax. 
Then  four  millions  of  the  human  race  rose  from  theit 
centuries  of  enslavement  and  became  citizens  of  the 
Republic,  shouting  hallelujah  to  Almighty  God,  and 
hailing  the  Republican  party  as  their  deliverer. 

The  war  ended,  the  Republican  party  entered  upon 
its  great  work  of  reconstruction,  restoring  states,  ex 
hibiting  a  leniency  unparalleled  in  history,  rewarding 
its  soldiers,  paying  debts,  re-enfranchising  rebels.  Its 
work  is  not  yet  fully  accomplished,  nor  will  it  be,  till 
every  citizen,  without  distinction  of  race,  lineage,  color, 
or  previous  condition,  shall  be  in  the  full  possession  of 
all  his  rights,  and  the  equal  of  every  other  man  before 
the  law. 

Ideas  are  eternal.  Nations  rise  and  fall,  but  ideas 
live  on  forever.  Liberty,  truth,  justice,  right,  can  never 
perish.  Liberty  knows  no  defeats  ;  eternal  youth  is 

hers. 

"Vital  in  every  part    *    *    * 
Cannot  but  by  annihilation  die." 

James  A.  Garfield  and  Chester  A.  Arthur  are 
standard  bearers  of  the  party  that  has  announced  to 
the  world  that  this  continent,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific,  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  is  henceforth  to  be 
under  the  stars  and  stripes,  and  forever  consecrated 
to  liberty  and  the  equal  rights  of  every  man.  With 
justice  and  right  upon  its  banners  the  Republican 
party  takes  up  its  march  once  more,  keeping  step,  now 
as  in  the  past,  to  the  music  of  the  advancing  ages,  to 
do  its  appointed  work. 


INDEX. 


Abbotts  Creek,  130. 
Adams,  John  Quincey,  96. 
Advice  to  Young  Men,  283. 
Ames,  Oakes,  Mr.,  318-323. 
Arthur,   Chester  A.,  Chapter  KJOU 
Ancestry,  13-16. 
Anti-Slavery  Society,  93. 
Autumn,  So. 

B. 

Baird,  General,   192,  201. 
Ballou,  Alpha,  22. 
Ballou,  Eliza,  22,  24,  25,  32. 
Ballou,  Henry,  22. 
Ballou,  James,  22,  24. 
Ballou,  Maturin,  21. 
Banks,  N.  P.,  247. 
Banks,  Failure  of,  42. 
Bates,  Samuel  D.,  57,  348. 
Bates,  General,  198. 
Beauregard,  General,  160. 
Bethany  College,  77. 
Big  Sandy  Expedition,  129. 
Blaine,  f.  G.,  247,  321,  355. 
Booth,  Almeda  A.,  66-69,  89. 
Bragg..  Braxton,  Chapters  xvi. — V* 
Brough,  John,  228. 
Buchanan,  George,  m. 
Buckner,  General,  188. 
Buell.  D  C.,  115,  "7>  140- 
Butler,  B.  F.,  327. 

C. 

Campbell,  Alexander,  35. 
Camp  Chase,  115. 
Gary,  Samuel,  28. 
Caucus,  "King,"  357. 
Ohadburn,  Paul,  81,  82. 
Oheatham,  190,  191. 
Chicago  Convention,  356. 
Clayton,  General,  198,  201. 
Clemmer,  Mary,  336. 
Clinton,  De  Witt,  31. 
Concord  Battle,  16,  17. 
Conkling,  Roscoe,  247,  359. 
Congressional  Pay,  325. 
Conventions,  National,  358. 
Copper  Mining,  48. 
Cox,  J.  D.,  106. 
Cranor,  Colonel,  130,  131,  139. 
Credit  Mobiiier,  317. 
Crittenden,  General,  117,  193,  195. 
Culver,  E.  D..  368. 


D. 

Darsie,  J.  L.,  86. 
Davis,  General,  218. 
De  Golyer  Contract,  329. 
Democratic  Conventions,  357. 
Dennison,  Governor,  114. 
Disciple  Church,  64. 
Dutch  Oven,  28. 

E. 

Eclectic  Institute,  69. 
Edmunds,  Senator,  361. 
Eighteenth  Brigade,  123. 
Emancipation,  94. 
Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  .**» 
Emigration  to  Ohio,  23. 

F. 

Fairfax,  Lord,  233. 
Faneuil  Hall  Speech,  289. 
Fort  Donelson,  155. 
Fort  Henry,   151. 
Forty-Second  Regiment,  115. 
Freedmen,  243. 

G. 

Garfield,  Abram,  20,  25,  28, 
Garfield,  Abraham,  18,  19. 
Garfield,  Benjamin,  16. 
Garfield  Coat  of  Arms,  14. 
Garfield,  Edward,  13, 15,  16. 
Garfield,  Eliza  Ballou,  36-40,  64. 
Garfield,  Harry  A.,  339. 
Garfield,  Irvin  McDowell,  339. 
Garfield,  James  A.,  Jr.,  339. 
Garfield,  Mollie,  339. 
Garfield,  Mr.,  89,  91,  337,  338. 
Garfield,  Solomon,  17,  22. 
Garfield,  James  A,, 

Birth,  32. 

Boyhood,  41. 

Planes  Boards,  45. 

Works  in  a  Potashery,  45. 

A  Carpenter,  46. 

Wood  Chopper,  46. 

Farm  Hand,  47. 

Desires  to  be  a  Sailor,  47. 

Works  on  the  Canal,  48-51. 

Fights  with  Dave,  52. 

Returns  Home,  54. 

Turning  Point  in  Life,  55. 

Sickness,  55. 

Masters  the  Spelling  Book.  57. 

Attends  the  Village  School,  58. 

377 


378 


INDEX. 


Garfield,  James  A.  —  continued. 

Goes  to  Geauga  Academy,  59. 

Works  in  the  Haying  Field,  60. 

Teaches  his  First  School,  61. 

Second  Term  at  Geauga,  61. 

Begins  Study  of  Latin,  62. 

Goes  to  the  Eclectic  Institute,  64. 

Janitor  at  the  Institute,  65. 

Begins  Geometry,  68. 

Spends  a  Vacation  Studying  the  Clas 
sics,  70. 

On  the  Play-Ground,  72. 

Standing  in  the  Classics,  75. 

Why  he  Decided  to  go  to  Williams  Col 
lege,  78. 

Contribution    to  the    Williams   Quar 
terly,  80. 

Speech  in  Relation  to  the  Outrage  on 
Charles  Sumner,  Si. 

Graduate  of  Williams,  81. 

President    Chad  bourne's    Statement  of 
his  College  Life,  82. 

Elected  President  of  Hiram,  83. 

Letter  to  a  Friend,  84. 

Letter  from  one  of  his  Pupils,  86. 

Becomes  a  Preacher,  go. 

Takes  up  the  Study  of  Law,  91. 

Marriage}  92. 

His  Anti-Slavery  Convictions,  96. 

Elected  to  Ohio  Senate,  105. 

Reply  to  Judge  Key,  108. 

Appointed  Lieutenant-Colonel,  113. 

Raises  Soldiers,  115. 

Ordered  into  Service,  115. 

Meets  General  Buell,  116. 

Appointed   Commander  of   a   Brigade, 
116. 

Plans    Expedition    against   Humphrey 
Marshall,  117. 

Appointed  Commander  of  the  Big  Sandy 
Expedition,  118. 

Movement  up  the  Big  Sandy,  120. 

Hardships  of  the  Campaign,  124. 

First  Skirmish,  125. 

Movement  on  Paintville,  126. 

Battle  of  Middle  Creek,  132. 

Charge  upon  Humphrey  Marshall,  138. 

Flight  ot  the  Enemy,  138. 

Service  as  Steamboat  Captain,  140. 

Receives  Thanks  of  General  Busll,  145. 

Contrasted  with  McClellan,  146. 

Joins  General  Buell,  158. 

Appointed     Commander    of    the    zoth 
Brigade,  158. 

Arrives  at  Pittsburg  Landing,  158. 

Takes  part. in  the  Corinth   Campaign, 
150- 

Rebuilds  Railroad  Bridges,  164. 

On  the  Sick  List,  166. 

Appointed  to  succeed  General  G.  W. 
Morgan,  167. 

Member  of  Court-Martial  for  the  Trial 
of  Fitz-John  Porter,  167. 

Appointed  Chief-of  Staff  to  Rosecrans, 
168. 


Garfield,  James  A.  —continued. 

Makes  Report  to  Rosecrans  refuting 
Opinion  of  the  Generals  of  Divis 
ions,  112. 

Plans  the  Tullahoma  Campaign,  175. 

Plans  the  Chickamauga  Campaign,  185. 

Comprehends  Bragg's  Movements,  193. 

Issues  Orders  during  the  Battle,  209. 

Rides  to  General  Thomas,  214. 

Takes  part  in  the  Final  Repulse  of 
Bragg,  218. 

His  Despatch  to  Rosecrans,  218. 

Appointed  Major- General,  219. 

Election  to  Congress,  222. 

President  Lincoln's  Desires,  223. 

Appointed  on  Committees,  223. 

Reply  to  Mr.  Long,  231. 

Reply  to  Fernando  Wood,  242. 

Remarks  relating  to  the  Freedmen,  243. 

Remarks  on  State  Sovereignty,  245. 

Tribute  to  General  Rosecrans,  249. 

Remarks  on  Abraham  Lincoln,  258. 

Address  on  Elements  or"  Success,  263. 

Address  on  Future  of  the  Republic,  274. 

Advice  to  Young  Men,  283. 

Address  on  the  Finances,  289. 

Election  as  Senator,  311. 
•  Reception  at  Columbus,  312. 

At  Home,  332. 

At  Chestertown,  Penn.,  342. 

At  Chicago  Convention,  360. 
Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  32. 
Geanga  Academy,  57. 
Giddings,  Joshua  B.,  95-102. 
Golden  Circle,  227,  375. 
Granger,  Gordon,   178,   214,   217,  218 
Grant,  General,  357. 

H. 

Halleck,  Henry  W.,  164,  165.  189,  190 

Hardee,  General,  161. 

Harlow,  Alonzo,  350. 

Harris,  Isham  G.,  231. 

Harrison,  General,  366. 

Hayes,  President,  372. 

Hazen,  Wm.  B.,  f>g,  114, 124. 

Henry,  Joseph,  32. 

Herndon,  Captain,  373. 

Hinsdale,  President,  354. 

Hoar,  George  F.,  355. 

Hoar,  John,  18. 

Hood,  General,  201,  203,211. 

Hopkins.  Mark,  77,  79,  90,  221. 

Hudson  College,  274. 

Hurlburt,  General,  174. 

I. 

Ingalls,  Mehuabel,  22. 

J. 

Jennings,  Lizzie,  369. 
Johnston.  Albert  .Sidney,  153 
Johnson,  B.  R.,  207. 
Johnson,  General,  201. 
Johnston.  J.  E.,  169. 
Journal  of  Commerce,  369. 


INDEX. 


379 


Key,  Judge,  108. 

L. 

Lawnfield,  334,  335. 

Jbee,  Major,  205. 

Lee,  Robert  E.,  233. 

Lemon,  Jonathan,  368. 

Lemon,  Juliet,  368. 

Letcher,  Amos,  48. 

Liberator,  33. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  217,  228,  256,  290. 

Literature,  40. 

Long,  Mr.,  229. 

Longstreet  General,  208. 

Lovejoy,  E.  P.,  94. 

Lowe,  Robert,  245. 

Lytle,  General,  212^  213. 

M 

Macaulay,  Lord,  279. 
Madison,  President,  357. 
Marshall,  Humphrey,  119,  123,  137. 
Marsh,  Sylvester,  30. 
May  dole",  Mr.,  209. 
McOlellan,  General,  146-148. 
McClernand,  General,  160. 
McCornb.  Henry,  321. 
McCook,  General,  186-196. 
McDowell,  General,  152,  339. 
McQ-offin,  Governor,  153. 
Middle  Creek  Battle,  137. 
Mill  Springs  Battle,  154. 
Monroe,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  134. 
Monroe,  President,  357. 
Monroe,  Professor,  106. 
Moore,  Colonel,  116. 
Morgan,  E.D.,  311. 
Morgan,  G.  W.,  167. 
Murfreesboro',  168,  353. 
Murpily,  Thomas,  372. 

N. 

Nashville,  156. 

IsTegley,  General,  190,  191,  193. 

N"ott,  Eliphalet,  366. 

O. 

Oberlin  College,  106. 
O'Conner,  Mr.,  368. 
Olds,  Adjutant,  132. 

P. 

Palmer,  General,  198. 
Pardee,  Major,  119. 
Peace  Measures,  107. 
Pendleton,  G.  H.,  286. 
Pennsylvania  Canal,  28. 
Pittsburg  Landing,  161. 
Pillow.  General,  151. 
Pixley,  Mr.,  361. 
Polk,  General,  192,  204,  205. 
Polk,  James  K.,  366. 
Preston,  General,  aoi. 


T» 

Reid,  Whitclaw,  162! 

Republican  Party,  374. 

Revere,  Paul,  17. 

Reynolds,  General,  igS,  202,  211. 

Right  to  Rule,  us. 

Rockwell,  Judge,  370. 

Rosecrans,     chapters  xv.,  xvi.,    xvii. 

xviii.,  xx. 

Russell,  W.  H.,  256. 
Ryder,  J.  F.,  271. 


Seminole  Indians,  96. 
Sswall,  Samuel  E.,  93. 
Schoepf,  General,  154. 
Sheldail,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  132. 
Sheridan,  General,  202. 
Sherman,  John,  359. 
Shiloh  Church,  161. 
Slavery,  32,  95,  96,  98. 
Stanley,  General,  187. 
State  Sovereignty,  245. 

Steamboat  incident,  142. 
Stevens,  Thaddeus,  247. 
Stephens,  Alexander  H.,  113. 
Stewart,  General,  198. 
Stone  River  Battle,  168. 


xvii.,  xviii. 
Train,  George  F.,  319,  320. 
Translation  Society,  70. 

V. 

Vallandigham,  227,  234. 
Van  Buren,  Martin,  366. 
Van  Cleve,  chapters  xvi. ,  xvii,  xviii.. 

W. 

Walker,  General,  197. 
Wallace,  W.  H.  L.,  160. 
Wallace,  Lewis,  160. 
Washburne,  E.  B.,  231,  247,  361. 
West  Virginia  Delegates,  360. 
Wilder,  General,  189. 
Williams  College,  chapter  vii. 
Wilson,  Billy,  371. 
Windom,  Vvilliam,  361. 
Wirt,  William,  357- 
Wood,  Fernando,  242. 
Wood,  T.  J.,  158,  2ii. 

Young,  Mr.,  360. 

Z. 

Zollieoffer,  General,  141, 


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